shipbuilding and repair

Transcription

Sailings1055 2014-12-12 1:08 PM Page 1
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December 8, 2014
SHIPBUILDING
AND REPAIR
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December 8, 2014
SHIPBUILDING
AND REPAIR
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Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 5
CONTENTS
DECEMBER 8, 2014
SHIPBUILDING AND REPAIR
6
7
7
American marine engineering and design
13 Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards yard modernization complete; first
blocks for Coast Guard’s Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels under
construction
16
17
19
20
22
26
11
13
Seaspan completes modernization
project; begins Coast Guard vessel
construction
Wooden tugs to high-tech work boats; Robert Allan Ltd. a tugboat
design dynasty
11 VARD Marine Inc. combines best practices of Norwegian and North
Robert Allan Ltd.: a tugboat
design dynasty
Profile of VARD Marine Inc.
Shipbuilding Association of Canada: Taking stock
27
27
28
28
30
31
32
32
33
34
34
35
Verreault steams ahead with drydock expansion project
An interview with Alex Vicefield, Director of Chantier Davie Canada
Davie looks for lower shipbuilding costs
LNG could propel Canadian shipyards to prosperity
A review of the U.S. shipbuilding industry
Seaspan Ferries awards contract for two new dual-fuel vessels
HMCS Ojibwa wins prestigious Canadian Tourism award
Halifax Port Authority releases final cruise numbers for 2014
Prime Minister Harper visits Sept-Îles’ new multi-user dock
Railway study underscores Quebec’s commitment to Plan Nord
Replacement for MV Princess of Acadia arrives in Saint John
China Shipping takes delivery of world’s largest container ship
Plasma waste-to-energy firm establishes itself at the port of Hamilton
Hamilton Port Authority purchases former Westinghouse complex
EDC: The rise of political risk
Port of Hamburg sets new record
SDV Belgium GDP certified for air shipments of pharmaceuticals
Hapag-Lloyd and CSAV complete merger and become the fourth largest
container carrier in the world
36 CKYHE joins other major alliances with U.S. green light as 2M unveils
schedules
37 G6 cancels calls to congestion-hit Los Angeles as ships queue outside
the port
16
Verreault moves forward with
drydock expansion project
37
38
38
39
39
Manitoulin Global Forwarding acquires Canfleet Logistics Ltd.
Ship’s crane collapse in Quebec prompts warning from safety body
ZIM reports an improved third quarter
Seaway on its way to a five-year record?
CN and USW reach tentative agreement
17
Interview with Davie’s Alex
Vicefield
39 Career Centre
39 Upcoming Industry Events
39 Index of Advertisers
Photo: Seaspan
R E G U L A R F E AT U R E S
Seaspan’s Vancouver
Shipyards
The contents of this publication are protected by copyright laws and may not be reproduced,
in whole or in part, without the written permission of the publisher.
December 8, 2014 • Canadian Sailings • 5
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Taking stock
SHIPBUILDING
ASSOCIATION
OF CANADA
PETER CAIRNS
President
n the last several years, much has happened in the shipbuilding industry and
as 2014 comes to an end, it is appropriate to take stock and see where the
dust has settled.
On 26 November the Shipbuilding
Association (SAC) co-sponsored its first
annual shipbuilding technical forum in
Ottawa. This one-day forum was intended
to raise awareness among shipbuilders,
suppliers, government officials, the Navy
and Coast Guard of available and emerging
technologies that have the potential to
change how we presently construct and
outfit ships.
Presentations covered a wide range of
technical issues including liquid natural
gas propulsion (LNG), component power
integration, ship design improvement and
shipyard costing, to name a few of the subjects. A highlight of the day was the
stimulating luncheon address given by the
Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of
Public Works and Government Services
Canada. A detailed list of the subjects and
presenters can be found on the SAC website www.canadianshipbuilding.com.
The forum was sold out and our initial feedback is that it was very well
received by the attendees. It is the
Association’s intention to continue yearly
forums on subjects of interest to shipbuilders and suppliers.
The
National
Shipbuilding
Procurement Strategy (NSPS) is still the
dominating issue in the industry. It is the
major shipbuilding investment for the government and has become the whipping
boy for the “it is too expensive and takes
too long to build in Canada crowd”.
I
However, if you sit back and look at the
sequence of events to date, you can draw
another conclusion. Since the NSPS program was announced in 2010, the two
shipbuilders have been selected, their shipyards have virtually been rebuilt from the
ground up, some ships have been
designed, the first test blocks are being
constructed for the first Coast Guard vessel
and the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship will
begin construction next year. Those
accomplishments are very significant when
you take into account the first year and
one-half was filled solely selecting the two
shipyards.
That said, there are concerns. The
Parliamentary Budget Officer has twice
drawn attention to what he considers the
underfunding of the shipbuilding programs. This was openly talked about on
the street for some time before the PBO
made his analyses. Lack of funding portends few options. If the PBO’s analysis is
correct, the government will need to
reduce its requirement, procure fewer
ships or augment the funding.
Since NSPS, the shipbuilding industry,
in my view, has been unintentionally
divided into two groups. Those that are
involved in NSPS, and those that are not.
My concern is for the latter. Those that
have gained access to the NSPS program
are looking at a solid future. The future for
those that have not is less rosy.
The original intent of SAC’s submission that became the NSPS was to have
three shipyards to take advantage of the
country’s geographic realities. These shipyards would, in return, attempt to involve
the smaller regional shipyards in the pro-
gram. Due to a series of events, this did not
happen and NSPS evolved as it is today.
Chantier Davie Canada Inc has now
emerged on the scene with a world view,
new ideas, significant shipyard investment
and an aggressive marketing strategy. The
management is openly willing to get
smaller yards involved in projects. It has
completed the ‘Cecon Pride’, a multi-purpose offshore construction vessel, is
working on a second ship, and is commencing construction of two dual-fueled
ferries. Despite Davie having a history that
the management is finding difficult to
shake, its future does look promising.
The Navy finds itself in difficult straits
having had to retire its two Operational
Support Ships (AOR’s) leaving no ability to
support the fleet during long deployments.
Since 1990, the Government has sent the
Navy to patrol the waters of the Middle
East, the Indian Ocean and to counteract
piracy off the Horn of Africa. AOR’s are
essential if such operations are to continue.
It is understood that the Navy is considering leasing and converting commercial
tankers to do this duty until the Joint
Support Ships (JSS) come on line. There
are few, if any, other options. Speed is the
essence of this decision if naval operations
are not to be severely affected.
Ships and ferries that should be constructed in Canada continue to be built
offshore for Canadian operators. Seaspan
Ferries has engaged a Turkish shipyard to
build two dual-fueled ferries. BC Ferries
has contracted a shipyard in Poland to
build three dual-fueled ferries. Other
provincial governments and commercial
operators are also building vessels offshore.
The standard argument for building offshore is that the operator has to pay a
premium to build in Canada. What it really
equates to is the loss of salary and economic benefits to Canadians.
On a more positive note, I understand
that the Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel
Project has appeared before Treasury Board
and been awarded some supplementary
funding that will remove the concern that
there was insufficient funding to build six
vessels.
On behalf of myself and the members
of the Shipbuilding Association of Canada,
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and
a Prosperous New Year.
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 7
Wooden tugs to high-tech work boats; Robert Allan
Ltd. a tugboat design dynasty
BY R. BRUCE STRIEGLER
T
entific research vessels, icebreakers, ferries
and an array of other unique specialized
craft. Founder Robert Allan was born in
1884 in Scotland where he completed an
apprenticeship as a draftsman, and then a
B.Sc. in naval architecture at the University
of Glasgow in 1907. Following World War I,
Robert Allan moved to Canada, initially
working at Wallace Shipyards in North
Vancouver, but leaving to establish his own
naval architectural firm in 1930. The first of
Mr. Allan’s sons, Robert F. Allan joined his
father in the practice in 1945, and in 1973,
second son Robert G. Allan (Rob) entered the
family craft.
During the 1940s and 1950s there
were dozens and dozens of drawings for
wooden seiners, trollers and gillnetters generated in the family’s basement. In the 1950s
the company designed hundreds of barges
and innumerable tugs as the B.C forest
industry experienced significant growth.
ROB ALLAN
Photo: Robert Allan Ltd.
hree generations have built the firm
Robert Allan Ltd., naval architects and
marine engineers, into a global design
leader in high-performance work boats. Rob
Allan, Executive Director of the Board of
Robert Allan Ltd. says, “In the broadest
sense, we design work boats, we don’t
design yachts, or large ocean-going vessels.
We do custom designs for a worldwide
client base who are either vessel owners or
builders. Our bread and butter, and by far
the largest proportion of our work, is in high
performance tugboats. We’re currently
designing, by our best estimate, something
in the order of 30 to 40 per cent of the
world’s tugs from our offices in Vancouver.”
The company’s website displays thirteen classes of workboats including nineteen
classes of tugboats alone. The directory is
stunning in its diversity of design and application. Classes comprise fireboats, coastal
and river tug-barge towing systems, offshore
support vessels, crew boats, patrol craft, sci-
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Illustration: Markey Machinery
Robert Allan designed TundRA 100
During the 1960s, the Canadian government
offered a 40 per cent shipbuilding subsidy
and the local coastal towing industry took
this opportunity to replace most of the
wooden fleet, with Robert Allan Ltd.
awarded as much as 75 per cent of the
design work.
During the 1970’s, oil exploration in
the Beaufort Sea presented severe environmental challenges to the design company,
which triumphed then, and years later
would deliver vessels to operators in the offshore industry in the Caspian Sea and at
Sakhalin Island. Allan adds that with the end
of Beaufort exploration in the mid-1980s, an
entire generation has not had Arctic experience. “In Newfoundland, Memorial
University has built a well-regarded program
to train naval architects, but work in the
North Atlantic, where ice is impermanent, is
far different from work in the Arctic.”
Escort tugs play an enormous role
in oil tanker industry
In 2013, Robert Allan Ltd bolstered its
position as a world leader in tug design, with
new RAmparts, RAstar and RAmpage-class
tugs going into markets as diverse as Western
Australia, Thailand, China, Colombia, the
United States, Canada, Turkey, Hong Kong
and Papua New Guinea. Rob Allan says,
“The RAmpage Series of offshore support tug
designs was to address a defined gap in the
market for high-performance towing and
anchor-handling tugs for critical offshore terminal and oil-field support. They fill an
opening between a full offshore supply vessel
and a harbour/coastal tug, in the size range
from 45 to 65 metres.”
This summer, Houston-based Signet
Maritime took delivery of the 8th and 9th
tugs designed for it by Robert Allan Ltd.,
adding to its fleet of 37 conventional and
ASD vessels. Both are of the RAmparts 3200
class Z-drive tug design with now well over
100 of this class in service worldwide. The
tugs were constructed at Patti Marine
Enterprises in Pensacola, Florida and are
based on the Signet Weatherly design, but
have additional power and a higher bollard
pull. The vessels are intended for multi-disciplinary work including offshore support,
towing, ship-assist, ship escort, subsea and
rig moves. A number of design modifications
were incorporated from the original design
to increase the vessel’s capabilities for this
multi-disciplinary work.
Rob Allan notes, “We’re engaged in
considerable research and development for
the next generation of tugs, advanced
designs are underway for new RotorTugs,
RAVEs and various LNG and hybrid powered
permutations.” Allan says that escort tugs
should not be mistaken for the small log- or
barge-towing tugs with which many on the
B.C. coast are familiar. “Escort tugs are large
and immensely more powerful, featuring
unique hull forms that can generate very
high hydrodynamic forces, and with powerful 360-degree steerable thrusters.”
An escort tug typically operates tethered to the tanker and is immediately
available to exert very high steering or braking forces as required. “Our innovative
escort tug design allows for the boat to apply
forces equivalent to or higher than the
tanker’s own steering and braking capabilities at high operating speeds.” Tankers can
have, however occasionally, mechanical
problems with propulsion or steering systems. If well out at sea, there is almost no
risk since the crew should be able to fix the
problem quickly. “If, however, that failure
occurs in a near-coastal environment, there
must be systems in place to ensure the
tanker does not go aground. That’s where
the high-performance escort tug comes in.”
In 2011, RALion, a joint venture
between Robert Allan Ltd., Alion Science
and Technology Corporation of McLean,
Virginia, and Alion Science and Technology
(Canada) Corporation of Kanata, Ontario,
were awarded a contract to design a new
research vessel for the Australian
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organization. The vessel was delivered in 2013, is based in Hobart, Tasmania
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 9
New hull designs quantum leap for escort tug towing
Mr. Allan says that what has distinguished the company’s designs
in the last ten to fifteen years came from the emerging market for
tanker escort tugs. “We did a lot of independent research and invested
significantly in our own model testing and came up with a couple of
ideas embodied in our RAstar class hull designs. I wanted to explore
some ideas I had about hull forms that could do the job better than
what we were seeing in conventional boats. This class created a whole
new standard of performance for tanker escort tugs. We’ve refined the
design to the point where I think virtually every tanker escort and offshore terminal project over the past fifteen years has been using this
general class of design. It’s been very successful for us commercially,
but technologically it really was a bit of a breakthrough, particularly
since this is an industry not known for making leaps and bounds
through technology.”
GROUPOCEAN.COM
and operates from the tropical north to the Antarctic ice-edge and
across the Indian, Southern and Pacific oceans. In December 2013 the
Ocean Tundra was commissioned for Groupe Ocean Inc. (Ocean) of
Quebec City. This icebreaking escort tug becomes the most powerful
tug in the Canadian registry. Rob Allan notes the vessel heralds a new
generation of extremely capable tugs providing the highest degree of
year-round escort towing capability on Canada’s east coast, the St.
Lawrence River and Seaway system.
Other examples of the firm’s innovative design and engineering
work in 2013 include delivery of the first of eight pusher tugs and 144
barges to transport iron ore on the Paraguay/Parana river system in
South America. More than three million tonnes per annum will eventually be transported 2,500km from Vale’s mine in Corumba, Brazil, to
trans-shipment ports near Buenos Aires. The pusher tugs have a heavyfuel-powered diesel-electric propulsion system driving triple Z-drives.
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 10
He adds that even the fact there is
model testing in the tugboat field is quite
remarkable. “In the early days of my career
we never model-tested tugs, we just slowly
evolved one design to the next. There’s been
some quantum leaps in the capability of tugs,
particularly in escort tugs. “We’ve really
been the only people in the world doing this,
and it has paid dividends.” Mr. Allan explains
that what makes the RAstar class hull unique
and provides improved performance is the
sponsoned hull form. “This has been proven
in both model and full-scale testing to provide significantly enhanced escort towing
and sea-keeping performance.”
Allan continues, noting the escort tug
forces are enhanced by the effects of the
sponson as well as the foil-shaped fitted
escort skegs. Mr. Allan says that roll motions
and accelerations are less than half those of
comparable sized “standard” tug hulls.
“These tugs will typically be high-powered,
and are intended for escort operations in
weather and sea-exposed areas often found
in many new LNG terminals where a high
standard of sea-keeping is required.” RAstar
Series tugs are classified according to their
approximate length, for example, the RAstar
3400 is 34 metres long, and a range of power
can be accommodated within each hull size
according to the specific operational needs.
Accordingly, there may be beam variations
with the same length series.”
Vancouver family business founded
in 1930, today an employee-owned
global leader
In 1981 Rob succeeded his father as
President, leading the company into a new
generation of computer-based design technology. In spite of industry awards,
remarkable design innovations, and the
worldwide success, Rob Allan says, “In retrospect, what I’m most proud of is the fact that
I was able to negotiate with my friends and
colleagues here at Robert Allan Ltd., the ultimate sale of the company to the employees
in a manner that benefited everybody concerned. Although there are no enduring
guarantees, I feel very confident about the
long-term future of the company, well past
the days of my direct involvement. That was
a major goal of mine and this has enhanced
the sense of pride and work ethic that we
seek to infuse in all aspects of our design and
consulting work.”
Asked how Robert Allan Ltd. manages
its worldwide client base, Rob Allan replies,
“It’s all about air miles. Ultimately, in spite of
all the technological communication devices,
I firmly believe there is no substitute for sitting face-to-face, working with clients to
really understand what they want. You get to
know them, they get to know and trust you,
which usually leads to long-term relationships.” The company offers three sorts of
services; ship design, marine engineering and
marine consulting. “Ship design is absolutely
the largest segment of our business, we’re
consulting engineers, and what we may do
in that area is what’s commonly referred to in
the business as feed studies. Someone may
say we’re looking at this kind of project,
what do we need?” Explaining that, they’ll
then undertake a range of studies that could
include economic impacts, transportation
analysis, tug escort and towing force analysis
or ship model testing and trials. “Often those
lead to the actual design contract.”
In another unusual step, Robert Allan
Ltd. encourages its senior staff to publish
research papers online. Posted on the company’s website are more than 80 studies and
professional presentations covering a variety
of topics from specific design techniques to
perspectives and industry trends. Rob Allan
says, “One of the skills I have is to write well
about the work that we do. That has been a
very effective tool marketing our skills and
our services, and I’m actively encouraging
others within the organization to take up
that torch.” He suggests it’s important from a
business promotion aspect but also in the
broader view to advance the science of the
whole industry. “We don’t share all of our
secrets, but if there are developments that
can lead to improved performance or safety
within the industry, those are worthwhile
things to promote and share.”
Rob Allan says the company is doing
exceptionally well, “We’re extremely busy,
we’re working all over the world.” He adds
that only days before the Canadian Sailings
conversation, Robert Allan Ltd. received new
contracts for projects in South Africa,
Norway and Indonesia, for a total of about
20 major vessels. “On top of that we have a
full order book. It’s an exciting time and it
continues to amaze me that we’ve achieved
the prominence in this field that we have.
Pointing out that most of the company’s competitors are owned by off-shore interests, he
says, “It’s been so much fun and we’ve done
it as a proudly Canadian firm.”
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 11
VARD Marine Inc. combines best practices of
Norwegian and North American marine engineering
and design
Photo:VARD Marine
he company has been in existence in Canada since 1983, under
various names. “We were STX Marine up until this summer
when we were bought by Norway’s VARD Holdings, a unit of
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, says Dave McMillan, President and
CEO of VARD’s Canadian operations. “A large part of our business,”
says McMillan, “is the off-shore supply vessel market, principally in the
U.S. Gulf Coast, hence our Houston, Texas office. We’re probably the
leading designer of off-shore vessels being built down there, with about
35 vessels either being constructed or about to be constructed.”
In July 2014, VARD Holdings Limited, a major global designer and
shipbuilder, acquired STX Canada Marine Inc., a prominent Canadian
marine engineering and design company with more than 30 years of history in North America. Headquartered in Vancouver, with over 60
employees and branch offices in Ottawa and Houston, TX., the organization was expected to combine the best practices of Norwegian and
North American marine engineering and design. VARD Marine Inc. is
headquartered in Norway with 10,000 employees worldwide. The
company also operates ten strategically located shipbuilding facilities,
including five in Norway, two in Romania, two in Brazil and one in
Vietnam.
Mr. McMillan started his career in the United Kingdom as a naval
architect, and has worked in British shipbuilding. “I came to Vancouver
after shipbuilding began to decline in the U.K., worked for a number of
T
years at another Vancouver engineering company. “This is a job I enjoy
every day.” He explains that in North America, VARD’s core business is
around what they call mid to large type complex ships, “Here, we’re
purely a design company, we don’t do any construction although we do
construction supervision. The Houston office focuses on our U.S. customers and the U.S. shipyards. In fact, one of our customers, Eastern
Shipbuilding, is the third largest in the world delivering platform supply
vessels over 5,000 tonnes deadweight, and those are all our designs.”
In Canada, McMillan says, ship design has been the strongest service
the company has deployed.
In both Canadian and international marketplaces, VARD
designs prove successful
“We’ve been very successful over the last five years doing work for
the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Coast Guard.
The Arctic Off-shore Patrol Ship, known by its acronym AOPS, is a
design we developed as a sub-contract with BMT in Ottawa.” These vessels are part of the package of ships awarded Irving Shipyards in Nova
Scotia under the government’s National Shipbuilding Procurement
Strategy (NSPS). “We then did the off-shore oceanographic science vessel
for coast guard, one of the vessels in the NSPS package awarded to
Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards, and most recently we completed the
design of the flagship of that program, the polar icebreaker.”
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 12
McMillan adds that commercial work the company is involved
with includes BC Ferries. “We’ve applied our LNG design experience to
the current Spirit Class upgrade/LNG conversion.” With respect to
LNG conversions, McMillan says the company originally got involved in
this emerging sector about four years ago, having to adapt one of the
company’s original designs of a platform supply vessel (PSE’s) to be a
dual fuel ship, locating the LNG supply tank below deck. “About the
same time we worked with a company in Quebec to develop ferries for
STQ.” The Société des traversiers du Québec is a provincial crown corporation operating intra-provincial ferry services and McMillan says the
first of the vessels are currently under construction at Davie Shipyards.
McMillan explains the details of another VARD design, “About
eight years ago, we were approached by a customer from Houston to
develop what we called a compact semi-submersible. It is really a multihull platform 84 metres by 32, and the idea was to build a solid unit that
would have good ship motions, but be smaller than the competition and
at the same time having a good deadweight capacity.” He notes this
factor was important, saying, “We didn’t compromise the really good
sea-keeping qualities but had virtually no deadweight.” The SV260 offshore service vessel is designed to service installations with a large deck
cargo capacity, can handle liquid cargos such as mud, drilling and fresh
water or fuel. McMillan notes that VARD did model testing and design
development with the customer, resulting in a very successful project.
Off-shore patrol vessels (OPV) have been a successful product for
VARD. “We describe these as commercial vessels painted grey, since it’s
been proven that this ship fits second-tier navy budgets, it’s not a combat
ship, but remains a very capable platform. We’ve had a number of these
vessels built around the world.” McMillan says that the latest 90-metre
vessel built in the United Kingdom for the Irish Naval Services was
delivered this summer, containing a high level of automation and
designed for winter Atlantic operations. “We’re world-recognized with
this design, and compete successfully against all the big players in
Europe.”
McMillan says another project the company takes pride in, is to
have been selected as part of one of three groups bidding (from an initial
list of eight) on the U.S. Coast Guard’s off-shore patrol cutter program.
“That’s the largest project in the U.S. Coast Guard’s history, and is to
build up to twenty-two 100 metre and more, off-shore patrol vessels.
We are one of three design firms to be funded by the Coast Guard to
develop a class package, and to get here, we’ve beaten out a lot of good
competitors.” The bid is headed by Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG),
of Panama City, Florida. VARD has worked for more than 18 months to
produce a unique design tailored to this program’s requirements. Other
partners in the bid include Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation,
Quantic Engineering and Logistics Corporation, as well as MAN. At the
end of the preliminary and contract design phase, ESG and the other
two bidders will enter a second competitive tender to win the detailed
design and construction contract.
VARD reported consolidated revenues of NOK 11.16 billion
(Norwegian Krone) for the financial year 2013, in line with the NOK
11.13 billion in 2012. Mr. McMillan notes that perhaps the most
valuable and unique assets the company possesses have resulted from
its corporate affiliations, and its access the data compiled from hundreds of ships built within the VARD Group.
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 13
Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards yard modernization
complete; first blocks for Coast Guard’s Offshore
Fisheries Science Vessels under construction
B
Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy.”
One critical part of the work has been the installation of the
yard’s new 300-tonne gantry crane. The company involved more
than 4,400 students from 25 schools to submit names for the
crane, choosing Hiyí Skwáyel, (pronounced hee-yay sk-why-el), the
Squamish language translation of “Big Blue”. Due to its massive
size, the crane was shipped from China in three large pieces, the
fixed leg, hinged leg and main girder, along with thousands of
smaller components, to Fraser Surrey Docks, before being
offloaded and transported to Seaspan’s North Vancouver location.
The crane is the biggest of its kind in Canada, towering 80 metres
high and spanning 76 metres wide. Assembly, hook-up, testing and
commissioning were completed this summer.
In November 2013, three Aboriginal training and employment organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding to
create the Coastal Aboriginal Shipbuilding Alliance. Seaspan executives said previously that such an agreement would help
Photo: Seaspan
rian Carter, President of Seaspan Shipyards says, “We completed our shipyard upgrade October 30, two months in
advance of the projected date and significantly under
budget,” adding that the expansion was largely constructed on
space that didn’t have buildings on it.” Carter notes that it was
important to have a plan that gave the company an efficient shipyard for the future, but also would allow other work to proceed
while the improvements were underway. The upgrade consists of
seven new buildings and shops, a 300 tonne gantry crane, and
new load-out pier completed in 2013.
Funded entirely by Seaspan, the $170-million yard reconstruction project has transformed Vancouver Shipyards into the
most modern facility in North America, and will establish a shipbuilding and ship repair centre of excellence on the West Coast.
“The work means thousands of people will get the opportunity for
an exciting career in shipbuilding. The upgrades allow for the
effective and efficient delivery of non-combat vessels for the
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 14
Photo: Seaspan
Minister Diane Finley presses button to initiate steel cutting
Aboriginal people gain the necessary skills
to be part of the National Shipbuilding
Procurement Strategy (NSPS). Mr. Carter
comments that during the Shipyard
Modernization Project, 25 per cent of the
construction work in the shipyard was performed by First Nations joint venture
companies.
“We place a priority in working with
the Aboriginal community, not on the back
of any federal requirements through the
NSPS, since there are none, but we believe
it is the right thing to do. We are located
on the traditional territories of both the
Tsleil-Waututh Nation and the Squamish
Nation, so it’s important to us to develop
and maintain a good partnership with the
First Nations communities. “At the end of
the day, these companies or joint ventures
outright won the work, and they knocked
it out of the park, doing a great job.”
Shipbuilding begins on first
offshore fisheries vessel
At an October 27 ceremony, Seaspan
executives, along with Diane Finley,
Minister of Public Works and Government
Services Canada, announced that
Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards has started
construction on two initial production
blocks for the first NSPS ship, the
Canadian Coast Guard’s Offshore Fisheries
Science Vessel (OFSV). Brian Carter estimates the new vessel construction work
will result in the creation of 5,000 direct,
indirect and induced jobs over the next 20
years, to produce almost $500 million per
year in gross domestic product for B.C.’s
economy.
Carter says, “We’re on plan, we said
we’d start first OFSV in October this year,
which we did. We’ll start the remaining
blocks in early 2015, so everything is
onward and upward. We’re developing the
off-shore oceanographic science vessel
which is what we build after the three
OFSVs and we’re in the design process for
the joint support ship which will be the
largest ship ever built in western Canada.”
Describing the shipbuilding process, Carter
says, “Ships are built in blocks that start
with a piece of steel plate. The plate is cut,
stiffeners are attached to give strength.
This is called a panel, and the panels are
joined together, resembling a five-sided
block. The blocks are then outfitted with
everything we can possibly put in it such
as piping, ventilation, electrical systems
and equipment. We try to get as much of
that in during this process.” Once out of
the pre-outfitting stage, the block is
painted, multiple blocks are joined
together forming grand blocks which,
when all assembled, form the ship.
“This work completes the vessel to
about 92 per cent, and that’s as much as
we can do on land.” Once in the water, the
ship is commissioned, systems are connected and testing takes place, this work
will be done at Seaspan’s Victoria shipyards. The key to the construction
however, Mr. Carter says, is getting the
blocks as pre-fitted as they can be. He
notes that blocks are grouped since those
requiring more outfitting take longer to
complete. “Forty blocks make up the offshore fisheries science vessel and there are
six families of blocks. We plan the schedule to level-load our facilities, so we truly
operate as a manufacturing assembly line.”
In 2011, the federal government’s
National
Shipbuilding
Procurement
Strategy (NSPS) selected Seaspan’s
Vancouver Shipyards to build seven noncombat ships encompassing three offshore
fisheries science vessels, an offshore
oceanographic science vessel, a polar icebreaker and two joint Navy/Coastguard
support ships. Last October, the federal
government announced that Seaspan’s
Vancouver Shipyards will build ten additional non-combat vessels for the Canadian
Coast Guard. That contract award will
enable the Coast Guard to acquire up to
five medium endurance multi-tasked vessels and up to five off-shore patrol vessels
at an additional cost of up to $3.3 billion.
Mr. Carter says Seaspan is primarily
focused on the immediate NSPS work
underway, but initial planning has started,
and he says the Seaspan team will be ready
to begin the process for the additional vessels coinciding with the completion of the
polar icebreaker.
Canadian navy FELEX program
proceeds ahead of schedule at
Victoria Shipyards
Seaspan has invested an additional
$15 million to upgrade facilities at Victoria
Shipyards, including an operational centre
to support testing, trials and commissioning of the new federal vessels,
improvements that will be complete by the
end of December, 2014. Brian Carter talks
about projects on-going at Seaspan’s
Victoria Shipyards, saying, “Our core work
is two major programs, one the Halifaxclass modernization, the Frigate Life
Extension Project, often known as
FELEX.” Seaspan’s Victoria Shipyards performs a range of ship repairs on vessels up
to 100,000 DWT including complete
vessel conversions. The company utilizes
the Esquimalt Graving Dock, owned and
operated by Public Works and Government
Services of Canada. Shipyard teams have
moved to the fourth of five ships, HMCS
Ottawa, currently in the Victoria yard.
“This program continues to deliver ahead
of schedule, it’s a fantastic partnership we
have with the Department of National
Defence, Lockheed Martin Canada and our
Victoria Shipyards team.”
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 15
Carter notes that Seaspan will be able to extend the teams
currently working on the FELEX program to a new contract with
Lockheed Martin Canada. In June of this year, the Royal New
Zealand Navy contracted Lockheed to upgrade two frigates and fit
with new radars, electronic detection and other above-water systems, a self-defence missile system, decoys against missiles and
torpedoes, and an upgrade to the hull-mounted sonar. Carter says
the New Zealand navy wanted to utilize the Canadian expertise,
and they will sail the frigates to Victoria Shipyards. “This is very
similar to our work on the Canadian ships, and the New Zealand
ANZAC frigates will follow the FELEX program starting late 2016.
We are very excited to have this opportunity, it’s a big shot in the
arm for our Victoria team.”
The second major government program at the Victoria
Shipyards is the Victoria In-Service Support Contract (VISSC), a
refit and maintenance program for the Canadian Navy’s four
Victoria-Class 2400-ton diesel-electric submarines, ex-Royal Navy
vessels built in the United Kingdom. In 2008 Public Works and
Government Services Canada awarded VISSC to the Canadian
Submarine Management Group (CSMG). Lead contractor Babcock
Marine, a British company, owns CSMG, and has extensive experience working on Royal Navy submarines. The government
extended the program in 2013, giving Babcock Canada Inc. a further five years, and Carter says the first of the refits will be
delivered within weeks. “We’re ramping up for the second boat in
that class, HMCS Corner Brook, beginning some of the early work
now.”
Brian Carter also points out that Victoria Shipyards, with its
current work force of 800, is one of the largest ship repair companies on the west coast of the Americas, “It is humming with work.
As well as the long-term naval ship contracts, we have three cruise
ships booked for 2015, the BC Ferries new cable ferry construction
is underway, general commercial work for U.S. and Canadian
clients remains strong.” In response to questions about the use of
LNG in new vessels, Carter says that LNG is a fuel really beginning
to take hold. “We’ve involved in several opportunities to convert
vessels from diesel to also run on LNG, one here in B.C. with BC
Ferries Spirit Class vessels, and the other a cargo ship from a
Seattle area client. We expect to see a lot more activity in the LNG
field in the future. It’s something happening increasingly around
the world. We plan on being competitive and are prepared to
invest, so those conversion jobs come to our Victoria and
Vancouver shipyards and drydocks.”
Carter concludes, “Seaspan Shipyards as a group is hitting on
all cylinders right now, we’ve got the beautiful new construction
in the Vancouver Shipyards, which are now producing. As well,
Vancouver Drydock here in North Vancouver is bursting at the
seams with work, and at Victoria Shipyards, they continue to
knock it out of the park with the work they’re doing for the Royal
Canadian Navy and commercial clients.” Mr. Carter reflected how
times change, noting that four years ago, shipbuilding was a sunset
industry in British Columbia. “The future is quite bright for
Seaspan Shipyards, it’s hard to believe how far we’ve come in such
short period. It’s an exciting time.”
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 16
Verreault steams ahead with drydock expansion
project
BY MARK CARDWELL
nable to get a funding commitment
from the Quebec government for a
$44-million expansion of its drydock, Groupe Maritime Verreault has
decided to go it alone – at least for now with a project it deems critical for the company’s future. “We’re going to do it in
phases,” Richard Beaupré, President and
Chief Operating Officer of group subsidiary
Verreault Navigation, told Canadian
Sailings in an exclusive interview from Les
Méchins, the small town on the south
shore of the St. Lawrence River in eastern
Quebec where the company’s operations
are located.
According to Beaupré, the first phase of
the project consists of a doubling in the
width of the shipyard’s drydock from 27.4
to 56 metres. Two larger, hoped-for future
phases will involve a widening of the dock
gate and a 100-foot lengthening of the drydock itself. Work on the first phase began in
early November with the taking down of the
yard’s old marine railway building next to
the drydock - a structure built by company
founder Captain Borromée Verreault in the
1950s, and was first used to build ships.
Work is expected to be completed by next
summer.
“Widening the drydock will allow us to
take in more and larger vessels,” said
Beaupré.
He noted that the drydock will continue to receive ships during the roughly
10-month expansion phase, which is estimated to cost $12 million. “It’s not a
difficult engineering feat,” Beaupré said.
“We’ll be blasting and digging rock to
extend the existing wall (and) we’ll be able
to recuperate some portions of it.” As a
result, he added, Verreault has “a number of
vessels” booked in the drydock for the
coming winter months. “We’ll be quite
busy, much like we’ve been throughout
2014,” said Beaupré.
He noted that the yard’s busiest
months are traditionally November to April,
when some 200 trades people carry out a
complete range of repairs, refits, and maintenance services to tankers, freighters, ferries,
lakers, cruise ships, fish and factory vessels,
and offshore supply vessels.
Beaupré said the decision to expand
Photo: Groupe Maritime Verreault
U
the drydock “shows our commitment to
serve our many clients when they need to
be served.” That need is growing, he said,
due to the recent closures of Great Lake
shipyards in Port Weller and Thunder Bay.
“Our position on the St. Lawrence is ideal,”
added Beaupré, a former Great Lakes ship
captain with N. M. Paterson & Sons and the
husband of Denise Verreault, President and
CEO of Groupe Maritime Verreault. “Vessels
come down and offload wheat or whatever
in Baie-Comeau or Port Cartier, then come
here, get repaired (and) go back up the
Lakes with a load of iron ore or whatever.”
Beaupré said that after the widening of
the drydock is complete, two future expansion phases are on the planning books. One
is the replacement of the current drydock
gate, which will remain in place during the
first phase of expansion work. The final and
most expensive phase would be the lengthening of the drydock to 900 feet from its
current 800 feet. Once completed, the
three-phase expansion project would give
the Verreault yard the largest drydock for
commercial ships on the East Coast of North
America. It would notably enable the yard to
accommodate ships of almost any size,
including the New Panamax vessels. It
would also allow it to take Canadianflagged vessels that now go to Europe to go
into drydock.
“Ships are getting wider and our
market is shrinking,” Verreault told
Canadian Sailings in an interview earlier this
year. “We need this project to move forward
or we risk getting left behind.” She claimed
to have received “many letters of intent”
from Canadian shipping companies to use
an enlarged drydock in Les Méchins.
The letters were part of a detailed business plan that Verreault put together in
2013 with the help of international engineering and environmental consulting firm
Royal Haskoning. The plan was submitted to
both the provincial and federal governments
in an effort to drum up financial support.
“We’ve been trying hard to get a commitment for the past couple of years,” said
Beaupré. He blamed two provincial elections in Quebec that have resulted in new
governments and changes in ministers and
policies for stalling discussions on the project. “We couldn’t wait any longer,” Beaupré
said about the decision to go it alone for the
first phase, noting that Verreault has
extended the drydock privately five times
since the company was founded in 1956.
“We decided to go in phases. That way we
can move forward (and) hope for a positive
outcome from discussions with government
about our project down the road.”
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 17
An interview with Alex Vicefield, Director of Chantier
Davie Canada
Q. What repair or construction work is currently being done at
the Levis shipyard?
A. On the construction side, we are working on the second of the offshore construction vessels (Cecon Excellence), as well as the two
LNG ferries for the Quebec ferry operator, STQ. In terms of repair and upgrade work, currently we have the
Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Des Groseilliers in for the first
part of her mid-life extension. This is the second icebreaker refit
project we are performing at Davie this year. Earlier this year we
upgraded the CCGS Louis St-Laurent, Canada’s polar icebreaker.
That was an exciting project which included the installation of
some very advanced equipment onboard. Next to come in will be CSL Group’s M/V Baie St-Paul early in the
new year. Also a very exciting project with a great customer. Q. Is the second Cecon ship nearing completion, and if so
when do you expect to launch and deliver the vessel?
A. The Cecon Excellence will likely be floated up this month
(December). It is ready to go now but it is blocked in the drydock
behind the Des Groseilliers. Final delivery will be sometime
towards the end of next year, depending on how the final specification is from the client. As we saw with the Cecon Pride which we
delivered this year, these are multipurpose vessels which can perform a number of roles but that also means changes to different
parts of the ship. For example on the Cecon Pride that meant the
installation of a saturation diving system. If you follow the oil & gas
industry, you will likely have seen that Cecon, our client, was
lowest compliant bidder on a recent tender with Petrobras for a
major pipelaying contract in Brazil. The intention is to use the
Cecon Excellence so that could mean the installation of a Vertical
Lay System (VLS) for the installation of flexible pipe. That will be a
major piece of work but as a group we did a similar, but larger
pipelay conversion project in 2011.
Photo: Davie
Q. Has financing been found for the third ship and, if so, do you
have any timetable for construction and delivery dates for
her?
A. Financing has been in place for the third ship since last year. The
question has been about when we start and the answer to that is
this month. There are two main reasons for that. Firstly, we have
been cautious not to expand too quickly and recruit too many
Alex Vicefield
people and have so many projects going on at one time that it
becomes difficult to handle. Despite having the physical capacity to
handle much more, it’s always better to have fewer projects, really
focus on them and provide a top quality product or service. The
second, and more important reason for delaying the third ship is
that we have been installing an entirely new integrated ship construction and Enterprise Resource Management (ERM) system.
This has meant replacing six older software systems which handle
everything from ship design to procurement to logistics to timekeeping and project management etc. into one system. The third
ship is more like a newbuilding project, where we will be pre-outfitting the ship to very high levels so use of the new ERM system
will bring major operational efficiencies, as we have seen on the
ferry projects. Q. Where is work at on the two provincial ferries? Again, are
delivery dates set?
A. Work is ongoing with the ferries and the majority of the ship sections have now been completed. Davie will be using a new air bag
launch system to launch the ferries next year. Delivery will take
place at the end of next summer. Q. Can you please give me an update on the size of the workforce at the Levis yard? (I read recently that there have been
about 100 layoffs.)
A. At the moment we have around 1,200 people at the yard. This
number changes depending on the stage of the programs underway. Sometimes we will have to lay off some trades while
recruiting other trades. For example, as you come to the end of
steel production on a project you may have to lay off welders but
at the same time recruit other trades such as electricians or carpenters. We are trying to mitigate the fluctuation and ensure that we
retain as many people as is economically possible; thereby retaining
and developing skills. Q. How are negotiations going with the Quebec government in
regards to income tax credits and other potential provincial
shipbuilding projects?
A. The new Quebec government has been a breath of fresh air for the
File photo
BY MARK CARDWELL
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 18
Q. Have you had any news from the federal government or
from any of your commercial partners about the possibility
of landing federal shipbuilding projects, whether new ones
or transferred work from the two winners of the first round
of NSPS contracts?
A. We are working closely with the federal government, which we
have done since Davie was acquired in November 2012. The federal government have shown major support for Davie over the past
few years. This has been both in terms of supporting Davie as it
exports vessels for the commercial market, as well as two new contracts for repair and upgrade of Canada’s medium and heavy
icebreakers (CCGS Louis St-Laurent and CCGS Des Groseilliers). Q. What’s your take about the shipbuilding industry in general,
and about the prospects for shipbuilding work in both
Canada and abroad in 2015 and beyond?
A. The shipping markets are still going through a very bad time – that
applies to the bulk, tanker and containership markets. Canadian
shipyards don’t build for these markets, only repair, so the impact
Photo: Guillaume Falardeau
Quebec shipbuilding and maritime industry. There is a significant
focus on ensuring that we use our seaways as much as possible for
economical and environmental gain. The Quebec Maritime
Strategy is in its infancy but in essence there is a concerted effort to
ensure the sustainability of the shipbuilding and ship repair industry. There are many incentives for shipowners to build and repair
their ships in Quebec shipyards. There are added benefits for
Quebec-based shipowners. of the shipping markets doesn’t have too much bearing on these. The
offshore oil & gas markets are still buoyant despite the fall in oil prices.
This is one of our target markets as the majority of our work is in this
sector. The very interesting market for us is the ferry market, as it is
clear that a lot of Canada’s ferry fleet requires replacing or upgrading.
In terms of the shipbuilding industry in general, there is a major drive
to expand capacity and capability in Canada but Davie remains as the
clear market leader. Its easy to build a shipyard but building a ship
takes many many years of practice. Davie is still the only shipyard in
Canada which has delivered large, modern vessels. Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 19
Davie looks for lower shipbuilding costs
BY ALEX BINKLEY
avie Inc. is looking for ways to
deliver quality ships at lower costs
by focusing on what its workforce
can do best, and hiring subcontractors for
the rest, says John Schmidt, Vice President,
Commercial. The current iteration of the
shipyard at Levis, Que. was incorporated
two years with 35 employees, Schmidt
reminded the Shipbuilding Technology
Forum. It now has about 1,000 on the payroll and a group of contractors it will
employ in future business.
Schmidt began his presentation with a
video about the Cecon Pride, a multipurpose
construction and offshore vessel that was
delivered by the yard to its Norwegian
owners this year. “It is the largest, most complex ship exported from Canada in 20
years.” It showed that Canadian companies
could build state-of-the-art ships.
While he mostly talked about the challenge of coming up with competitive bids for
new ships, he urged the nearly 200 delegates
to support a strong voice for Canadian shipbuilding and the marine industry. If the
government maintains the import duty on
ships under 130 metres in length, “then we
have a chance to build specialty ships for
export markets.” As for preparing a bid on a
shipbuilding contract, Schmidt acknowledged there the process “contains a bit of
black art.” Builders develop proposals that
allocate 40 per cent of their price to cover of
labour with the rest going for materials.
An example of the changes Davie has
made is to subcontract the insulating of
ships, which is a speciality its workers aren’t
experts in, he added. The company plans to
talk to its employees about the reasons for
greater use of contractors.
Davie has won two contracts recently
that will keep its workforce busy for months.
It will be conducting repair and maintenance
on CSL’s Baie St. Paul in the New Year and a
life extension work on the Canadian Coast
Guard icebreaker Des Groseilliers. Davie has
also signed an agreement with Aecon
Atlantic of Pictou to work together “to compete internationally in the ship export
market.”
Jason Aspin, CEO of Aspin Kemp &
Associates, a Canadian systems integration
company, told the conference that builders
need to keep investigating the potential
application of new technologies to their
Photo: Vanguard
D
Louise Mercier, CEO of FMJ Solutions and co-chair of the Forum; Diane Finley,
Minister of Public Works and Government Services; and Peter Cairns, President,
Shipbuilding Association of Canada
industry. He cited the response to the offshore exploration industry’s request for more
reliable power plants in their ships. “There
was no silver bullet in this challenge,” he
said. “It took a lot of subtle changes to
deliver the reliability they wanted. At the
same time, more technology doesn’t mean
higher reliability. It can be more complex
and less flexible.”
Canada could be a leader in shipbuilding “by not following the status quo
approach in the industry. We have to learn
how to change.” The federal shipbuilding
program “gives us a chance to get all the
stakeholders together to develop new technologies that will give us an attractive
capability. We just have to push ourselves
because problems in ships are not always
what they seem.”
Alain Bovis, President of Innovis, a
French R&D consulting company, said shipbuilding “is among the most complex pieces
of human engineering, especially submarines. The design is the ultimate output of
a comprehensive research and development
process.”
Builders aim to avoid cost overruns and
delays, and new technologies help meet
those objectives and also requests for last
minute variations in the design. Ship data
management systems have also become
increasing complex as the tasks and size of
ships evolve, he said. Builders “have to
make sure all the systems work across the
ship. It is important to have partnerships
with industry and universities to make sure
all these systems can work together.”
Paul Barbeau, principal naval architect
with Navtech, said the art of ship design has
been changed remarkably by new technologies including CAD, simulation tools and
virtual 3D ship modeling. “The current state
of the industry is beyond anyone’s dreams.”
The new technologies “have allowed
for careful management of projects to control costs. There are fewer designers and
builders and they are expected to keep doing
more with less.” The relentless advance of
technology “creates permanent pressure for
innovation to provide a competitive edge.”
Naval architects will always be needed for
ship design and there is no need to fear automated ship design technology, he pointed
out. “It should be seen as a tool for better
design.” The industry also has to cope with
the loss “of traditional skills in terms of
design and building,” he added. “As well,
the shipbuilding industry isn’t attracting
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 20
much interest from students because there are fewer projects and less
steady employment compared to many other trades.”
Randy Frank, Director of Research & Development with 3M
Canada, urged the conference to look at combining multiple technologies to tackle industrial challenges. Shipbuilders should “harness
the power of technology to drive their operations. He said his company’s wide array of products could offer “all sorts of ideas to
shipbuilders.” The company’s LED lighting system could be used on
ships reducing weight and increasing durability.
Norm Duinker, Operations Manager East for SNC-Lavalin
Defence Programs Inc. urged builders to improve the amount of
building information they provide customers before the ship goes into
service, to enable the owners to plan its life cycle maintenance and
repair regime.
Davie’s Schmidt said the industry has to “debunk the myth that
yards buy the work.” A builder has to take a cold hard look at how
much it needs the business and which companies it might be competing against.” As part of bidding on a contract, Schmidt urged builders
to talk with potential contractors well ahead of time to help create the
winning conditions. Steelwork is the biggest cost in a shipyard so “a
builder has to be able to lower that cost if it’s going be more competitive.” The answer seems to lie to in concentrating on the welding
process, he suggested. The second largest cost is the piping and
cabling required in a new ship. To control that expense, a wellplanned building process is needed to reduce waste and the required
installation time.
Machinery and propulsion systems in a ship are another
major cost item and are areas where contractors could play a
useful role in cutting expenses, he noted. This is also part of the
building process where the owner has to be supplied with as
much detail as possible to be able to maintain the ship in service
for as long as possible.
LNG could propel Canadian shipyards to prosperity
BY ALEX BINKLEY
he growing need for green marine
fuels and Canada’s supply of clean
burning LNG could provide
Canadian shipyards and ports with vibrant
future roles, says Andrew Kendrick, VicePresident of Operations with VARD Marine
Inc.
“Canada is an extremely logical place
to take the lead in marine LNG systems,” he
told a shipbuilding technology forum in
Ottawa organized by the Shipbuilding
Association of Canada (SAC). “It could
create a valuable niche for Canadian shipyards working as a hub for converting ships
to LNG propulsion. That could also bring in
a lot of repair work at the same time.”
Canadian shipyards aren’t currently
internationally competitive in many kinds of
shipbuilding, but LNG offers the opportunity for technological development, he
added.
There are many business opportunities
in the LNG supply chain, he continued. The
way ahead involves getting all the stakeholders together to raise awareness of the
fuel’s potential and the issues to deal with.
“We are working with Transport Canada on
the approval process for LNG transportation
issues.” The fuel could also be used by the
railways, truckers and motorists.
The theme of the conference was
investing in emerging technologies to build
Canada’s role in shipbuilding. SAC President
Peter Cairns said the conference was organized to hopefully become an annual event
that raises awareness of the new technologies that are available for shipbuilding and
T
repair. “We want to see Canadian technology in ships and convince the government
to support it. We should use the best
Canadian technology we can find. We’re not
a big industry in global terms but we can
hold our own.” The federal National Ship
Procurement Strategy is an opportunity to
“show our equipment and technology to the
world,” he added. “We make first class
equipment and we should be able to sell it.
Offshore oil and gas exploration is an area
where Canada could be a player as
Canadian companies already make components and parts for offshore rigs and vessels.
“We need to keep a priority on Built in
Canada and encouraging shipowners to buy
Canadian-built ships.”
Public Works Minister Diane Finley
told the conference that 2015 could be a
banner year for shipbuilding. “Vancouver
Shipyards is on track for full production of
the Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels and
steel will be cut in spring 2015. Irving
Shipbuilding will begin construction of the
Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships in fall 2015.”
Both Vancouver Shipyards and Irving
Shipbuilding have made major upgrades to
their facilities infrastructure by investing
$170 million and $300 million respectively,
she said.
Vancouver Shipyards has awarded
$120 million in contracts to suppliers in
Canada while Irving Shipbuilding has placed
orders worth more than $310 million with
Canadian companies. “More than 197 companies have already benefitted from these
investments.”
She said the government would release
a Value Proposition Guide in the near future
outlining the leveraging of economic benefits from future defence procurements.
Kendrick said coastal ports as well as those
on the Great Lakes could become LNG refueling centers, a move which will gain added
importance as new low sulphur rules for
marine fuels come into effect next year.
“This could give our ports a real competitive
advantage.”
The U.S. Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency plan to begin
enforcing rules that require ships to use 0.1
per cent sulphur fuel within 370 kilometers
of American and Canadian shores, he added.
Ship owners have several options for meeting this requirement including obtaining
EPA waivers or installing scrubbers.
Canadian natural gas is essentially sulphur
free and low in nitrous oxide emissions,
which makes it a natural alternative to the
heavy bunkers many ships now use as fuel,
Kendrick added. The U.S. rules will become
one more incentive to switch to LNG.
“There is a high capital cost of
installing an engine for LNG and its storage
tanks require more space than those for conventional fuel,” he said. But the switchover
quickly pays for itself in three to four years.
An LNG strategy would also encourage
the development new technology in
Canada. Two Canadian companies,
Westport Innovations and Ferus Natural Gas
Fuels Inc., have already taken the lead in
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 21
creating breakthrough equipment, he pointed out.
While much of the industry isn’t familiar with LNG fuel, it has
been used in enough ships and ferries in Canada and elsewhere to
know that it works and is safe. The International Marine
Organization is developing rules for its proper use “but their adoption
is for some time in the future.” Ports would need to develop the infrastructure and hire personnel for handling the fuel, which would
require a change in attitude on the part of government infrastructure
programs, Kendrick pointed out. On the other hand, Canadian ports
can gain approval for infrastructure projects faster than in the U.S.
VARD has done a risk analysis for shipowners on making the
switch to LNG, he added. “We need an agreement on propulsion
system designs as well as focusing on the equipment interface issues.
As well, engine designers need to take into account the different
levels of power a vessel needs while it is in operation.”
LNG has become a controversial issue in British Columbia
where the provincial government has offered policies to encourage its
development. Malaysian energy giant Petronas has dangled the
prospect of a multibillion-dollar LNG export facility near Prince
Rupert. However, first it wants to make sure that B.C.’s taxes and
cost structure won’t make the plant financially unattractive.”
Ernst & Young has issued a special report on the potential of
LNG development in Canada. Prepared by its experts Barry Munro
and Gary Zed, it says Canada could be on the verge of “making an
historic step toward a new export venture.” To get the development
done right, “It is vital that leaders in B.C. and Ottawa find the right
fiscal formula and create the globally competitive economic conditions so that the people of Canada and potential LNG investors are
able to establish a new export sector and capture the substantial
mutual benefits over the long term. Recent weakness in the market
prices for natural gas and oil and other structural shifts in the global
LNG market mean that a visionary and pragmatic approach that
focuses on the long term is essential. “Canada has massive supplies
of natural gas that can be safely unlocked using modern technologies,” the report continues. “More can be done to promote use of
natural gas in Canada, but we have far more natural gas than
Canadians could consume. Our people have a long and successful
history of capitalizing on their world-class resource expertise. That
economic development record has propelled our nation to stand tall
among any list of the world’s leading traders. Now bold steps are
again required to access global markets to ensure the value of our
abundant natural gas is maximized for the benefit of all Canadians.
The export of LNG represents an outstanding and momentous door
to firmly placing Canada’s natural gas industry on the world stage.”
Asia is the main market for LNG because “economies are
expanding quickly and countries are looking to replace more carbon
intensive forms of energy, such as coal, with cleaner burning fuels,”
it added. “But just as Canada wants to serve Asian customers, so too
do our direct competitors in the U.S. and Australia. Winning the race
to supply these markets is no sure thing. Competition is fierce. A
recent International Energy Agency study pegged the expected price
of Canadian LNG supplies significantly higher than quickly emerging
supplies from the U.S. As Canadian project proponents consider their
investments and hunt to secure long-term sales contracts around the
Pacific Rim, two key factors – taxes and time – will weigh on their
capacity to compete globally on price and, therefore, their decision to
invest.”
The industry would be an economic boon for Canada, the report
continues. “In our modelling, a $100-billion investment into a
Canadian LNG industry would generate, by 2025, a 3.7 per cent
jump in our GDP. More than 200,000 new jobs would be created
across all sectors of the economy. Federal and provincial governments
would see an additional $455 billion in revenues over the years
2015-2035.” Each large LNG project that does proceed could create
more than 4,500 direct jobs in construction as well as 300-plus longterm, full-time, well-paying jobs in ongoing operations of LNG
facilities.
The U.S. is currently Canada’s main natural gas customer but it
will soon reach self-sufficiency, and will then export gas in competition with Canada. The report says that “Canadian approval processes
need to be appropriately thorough, but not stretch beyond the time
required. And, we need to ensure we create an industry that operates
within the highest environmental standards.” To get there, Canada
needs more leadership from “both the LNG proponents and the B.C.
and federal governments. It appears the time for leadership in creating a Canadian LNG industry is here.”
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Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 22
A review of the U.S. shipbuilding industry
BY MICHAEL A. MOORE
.S. shipbuilders are riding a wave
of new-build orders for everything
from nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers to Jones Act container and
ro-ro ships, tankers, tugs, barges and offshore service vessels – a wave that started
gradually building around 2005, gained
momentum in 2011 and is still going
strong.
Fifteen years ago the U.S. shipbuilding industry was in the doldrums – the
private shipbuilding workforce was cut in
half, nearly 100,000 workers from the
early 1980’s to 2000, according to the U.S.
Department of Commerce Bureau of
Export Administration (BXA) Office of
Strategic Industries and Economic
Security.
Many things have changed since
2000, which marked the nadir of the
industry’s downward slide from its days of
Cold War frenzy and seemingly unlimited
budgets for the U.S. Navy and Coast
Guard. Those changes include tectonic
shifts in global political, economic, and
military dynamics, combined with new
shipbuilding techniques and technologies,
and topped off by the flood of U.S. oil and
gas released by fracking and increased offshore drilling.
Today, U.S. shipyards are growing –
actively seeking and training a new generation of workers and investing in
state-of-the-art technology as they prepare
for the challenges of building future U.S.
military and civilian fleets. Direct U.S.
shipbuilding employment grew from
83,500 in 2000 to over 127,000 in 2011
according to a 2013 U.S. Maritime
Administration (MARAD) report, The
Economic Importance of the U.S.
Shipbuilding and Repairing Industry.
The forward thrust in U.S. shipbuilders’ fortunes is driven by a mix of
factors, some constant, and others that
could not have been imagined a decade
ago. Those drivers include the U.S. Navy’s
fleet adaptation to geopolitical factors and
changes in naval warfare, the unexpected
boom in U.S. gas and oil production, emissions reductions requirements, upgrade of
U.S. Jones Act container and tanker fleets,
and MARAD Title XI loan guarantees.
Photo: Lockheed Martin
U
Littoral Combat Ship
Building a new Navy
The U.S. Navy is the largest customer
for the U.S. shipbuilding industry. The
Navy has ambitious plans for the coming
decades, plans that are undergoing drastic
changes as the Navy is forced to rethink its
post-ColdWar downsized, small-local-conflicts strategy and shift into Cold War II
mode.
“The U.S. surface fleet must restructure itself around a new central idea of
how it will fight. The surface fleet—whose
missions expandt ed over the last three
decades to include everything from
counter-piracy to ballistic missile defense –
will need to get “back to basics” and focus
on sea control to sustain the ability of U.S.
forces to project power across increasingly
contested waters,” wrote Bryan Clark in a
report for the Center for Strategic and
Budgetary Assessments (CSBA). Mr. Clark,
a senior fellow at CSBA, was Special
Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations
until 2013.
The impacts of this mid-course reversal in the Navy’s shipbuilding strategy are
already being felt by U.S. shipbuilders,
especially in the ambitious and troubled
Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program,
which was cut 40 per cent in the FY2015
budget, from 52 down to 40 ships.
“The LCS was designed to perform
certain missions – such as mine-sweeping
and anti-submarine warfare – in a relatively permissive environment,” said U.S.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel when he
announced the cuts last February. “But we
need to closely examine whether the LCS
has the independent protection and firepower to operate and survive against a
more advanced military adversary and
emerging new technologies, especially in
the Asia Pacific.”
The Navy’s original vision for the
Littoral combat Ships was a fleet of the fast
vessels for operation in waters as shallow
as 20 feet and useful for a variety of missions, including fighting piracy off the
African coast, clearing harbors of underwater mines and hunting for submarines.
The Navy’s five-year strategic shipbuilding plan calls for building 44 battle
force ships between FY 2015 and FY 2019
–8.8 ships per year, according to a
Congressional Research Service report
dated August 2014.
Those ships reflect the new geopolitical and technical realities of naval conflicts
the U.S. Navy is likely to face in the
coming years. The build plans include 10
DDG-51 destroyers and 10 Virginia-class
submarines. The Navy plans also include
one new aircraft carrier, 14 small surface
combat ships, 3 amphibious warfare ships
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 23
Mid-tier shipyards build various Coast Guard vessels, a variety
of auxiliary ships for the U.S. Navy, National Oceanographic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research ships and U.S. Army
inter-theater transport vessels. These mid-tier shipyards are also
engaged in building a wide variety of commercial vessels. Navy exports
In spite of its real and perceived problems, the Navy’s Littoral
Combat Ship is considered it best candidate for export to approved
foreign navies.
“We have created several ship designs for international
navies. We’ve offered our multi-mission combat ship, which can be
built in various lengths – 85, 118 and 150 meters – by partner
Marinette Marine,” said Joe North, Vice-President of Littoral Ship
Systems at Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin sees as many as 14
potential sales of international versions of the LCS platform to customers in the Middle East in the short term, a number that could
reach 50 ships in the longer term.
VT Halter Marine of Pascagoula, Mississippi is also benefitting
from export sales of military vessels. The company delivered its
first fast missile craft to the Egyptian Navy in 2013, and is scheduled to deliver the rest of the order for the 60-metre craft under
the US$1.29 billion contract this year.
Another military export opportunity for U.S. military shipbuilder, even small ones, is a request by Saudi Arabia for 30 Mark
V patrol boats. The 27-metre Mark V boats are also used as special
operations high speed insertion/extraction craft. The request was
Certified System
Système certifié
and one combat logistics force ship.
Looking further ahead, the U.S. Navy plans to spend about
US$17.2 billion every year until 2044 to reach its goal of a 306
ship battle-ready fleet. That yearly spending will increase to
US$19.7 billion per year between 2015 and 2034 when the Navy
builds replacements for its Ohio Class nuclear submarines at a cost
of approximately US$6 billion each. If the thirty-year plan stays its
course, the Navy will have built a total of 264 new ships by 2044.
Navy shipbuilding is a market segment most dominated by
two large corporations: General Dynamics (GD) and Huntington
Ingalls Industries (HII), according to the Shipbuilders Council of
America (SCA). When the builders of the Littoral Combat Ship
(LCS) are added to the six shipyards of these two corporations,
there are eight shipyards building the large majority of the Fleet.
These principal Navy shipbuilders construct aircraft carriers,
submarines, complex surface combatants and the large auxiliary
ships of the Fleet. Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Newport
News Shipbuilding and GD’s Electric Boat build nuclear class vessels. HII’s Ingalls Shipyard and GD’s Bath Iron Works build the
destroyer class ships, and HII’s Ingalls and Avondale build the
amphibious warships that transport the U.S. Marine Corps. LCS
ships are built by Lockheed Martin in partnership with Fincantieri
Marinette and by General Dynamics in partnership with Austal
USA. Finally, GD’s National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
(NASSCO) on the west coast, specializes in the larger, complex
auxiliary and support ships as well as large commercial vessel construction. MC
ISO 9001
ISO 14001:
Pointe-Claire
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 24
made in July of 2013 and included 27mm
guns, spare and repair parts, support equipment, personnel training and training
equipment, publications and technical documentation, U.S. Government and
contractor engineering, technical, and
logistics support services, and other related
elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $1.2 billion.
Eastern Shipbuilding
Group operates
two shipyards
in Florida.
One large and very busy shipyard that
is not building any Navy ships is the Aker
Philadelphia Shipyard (APSI), which rose
phoenix-like from the ashes of the
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard – also known
as the Navy Yard and dating back to 1871
– which closed in 1995.
Two years later, the shipbuilding division of Norwegian engineering and
construction giant Kværner bought the
yard, in cooperation with the City of
Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, and the United States
Government. Kvaerner immediately
started to invest in the modernization of
the giant shipyard. The shipyard was
designed with the specific intent of reducing materials handling operations and is
based on experience from state-of-the-art
Aker Yards shipyards in Europe. Facilities
construction was completed in 2000, at
which point the shipyard began construction of two container vessels based on a
proven design that Aker Yards was building in an affiliated shipyard in Germany.
The Philadelphia Class CV2600 was
modified to meet the unique needs of the
U.S. domestic markets. Matson Navigation
Company agreed to purchase these first two
vessels in 2002. During early 2005, Matson
agreed to purchase two more containerships, an additional CV2600 Class vessel
and a CV2500 containership.
In 2005, Aker took control of the yard
from Kvaerner, and completed a US$125
million share issue and was listed on the
Oslo stock exchange. The proceeds from
this offering were used to fund an innovative ten product tanker program that was
begun in April 2005. This product tanker
project involved Aker Philadelphia Shipyard
(APSI) to construct the vessels, Aker
American Shipping (now American
Shipping Company “AMSC”) to own and
lease out the vessels, and Overseas
Shipholding Group to bareboat charter the
vessels.
Aker Philadelphia enjoys a significant
advantage in its materials handling capabili-
Photo: Eastern Shipbuilding Group
Aker modernizes Philadelphia
Navy yard
ties, which include a Goliath Crane with a
maximum lift capability of 660 tonnes; specialized vehicles to transport grand blocks
weighing more than 600 tonnes; and
numerous other high-capacity and automated cranes.
APSI has a steel through-put capacity
of about 25,000 tonnes per year. A continuous improvement program utilizing global
resources and knowledge from similar types
of yards in Germany together with the well
proven Hyundai Mipo Dockyards (HMD)
design has been implemented to ensure
progress and through-put as the German
yard has already proven possible.
Aker continues to invest in state-of-theart equipment as it seeks to improve
efficiency and increased productivity. A new
micro panel line from Pemamek Oy Ltd was
commissioned in early 2013. The new line
replaced an existing one that Pemamek had
installed in the early 1990’s. The micro
panel line utilizes high-tech Lincoln Electric
Power Wave welding power sources and is
based on Pemamek’s patented Vision programming system, in this case equipped
with two Motoman robots. The line is
equipped also with a special welding floor
type conveyor solution to make working on
the line safer and to transport welded web
plates smoothly.
“Aker Philadelphia Shipyard decided
to invest in PEMA for achieving better productivity and improved schedule at the
shipyard with new and modern technology,” said Sanjay Deshmuk, Vice President
of Aker Philadelphia Shipyard.
Aker’s investment is paying off. Aker
Philadelphia currently has 11 large ships in
various stages of construction, with delivery
dates through 2017. Those ships range from
product carriers, tankers and container ships
for clients Sea River, Crowley Marine,
Matson and Philly Tankers. The combined
value of those projects is over US$1.4 billion.
Federal financial aid helps
Other U.S. shipyards are following
Aker’s course of modernization and increasing efficiency and productivity. They are
helped along by federally guaranteed loans
under MARAD’s Title XI Federal Ship
Financing Program, which provides for full
faith and credit guarantees by the United
States Government to promote the growth
and modernization of the U.S. merchant
marine and U.S. shipyards.
The
program
provides
U.S.
Government guaranteed debt issued by (1)
U.S. or foreign shipowners for the purpose of
financing or refinancing either U.S. flag vessels or eligible export vessels constructed,
reconstructed or reconditioned in U.S. shipyards and (2) U.S. shipyards for the purpose
of financing advanced shipbuilding technology and modern shipbuilding technology of
a privately-owned, general shipyard facility
located in the U.S. One of the most notable
uses of MARAD Title XI loans to advance
shipbuilding technology is the approval of
US$324.6 million to TOTE Shipholdings in
September of this year to finance the construction of two container ships that will
utilize liquefied natural gas (LNG) as propulsion fuel, and which will be constructed at
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
(NASSCO) in San Diego, California.
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 25
Expected to be delivered in 2015 and 2016,
TOTE will operate the vessels in Jones Act
trade between the Port of Jacksonville and
Puerto Rico, transporting containers, automobiles and other cargoes.
Another way MARAD aids U.S. shipyards is through MARAD Small Shipyard
Grants. Eastern Shipbuilding Group, a
medium size shipbuilder that operates two
shipyards in Panama City, Florida is one of
many U.S. shipbuilders benefitting from the
perfect convergence of the need for specialized ships, a protected market and federal
aid to finance vessels and modernize shipyards. “We’ve grown tenfold over the last
decade, and the MARAD programs have
helped,” said Stephen Berthold, Eastern’s
Vice-President Marketing. “Our plant modernization was jump-started by a little more
than three million dollars in MARAD Small
Shipyards Grants, which helped us build our
panel line and make other upgrades to our
facilities.” Those upgrades and MARAD’s
Title XI ship financing loan guarantees
helped Eastern Shipbuilding enter the
export shipbuilding market – the company
bid on the construction of five Platform
Supply Vessels for Boldini S.A., a Brazilian
company. A US$241 million Title XI loan
guarantee helped Eastern win the contract.
Eastern’s shipyards continue to hum
with activity. “We’re now building Z-drive
tugs, push boats, and specialized PSV’s with
250 ton cranes and helipads as well as a
multi-purpose field support vessel for
Harvey Marine that was designed by Robert
Allan of Canada,” said Mr. Berthold. “We
were selected as a Phase 1 finalist for the
Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter, which
is a ten billion dollar contract. Meanwhile,
we are building up our commercial work
and our workforce.”
companies. Since receiving its 2009 grant of
$2.9 million, BSC’s corporate parent
Fincantieri has invested more than US$30
million into its highly progressive division
which specializes in large ship construction
projects and builds OPA 90-compliant vessels, dredges and dredging support
equipment, along with bulk cargo selfunloading solutions.
BSC recently entered into several contracts with Moran Towing Corporation to
build three oil/chemical barges and two
tugs. “Our schedules are full, our backlog
runs through 2017,” said Todd Thayse,
BSC’s Vice-President and General Manager.
“That includes nine new boats, tugs and
tank barges as well as conversion work and
repair jobs. We do a lot of re-powering work
with Canadian shipowners as well.”
Vigor Industrial in the U.S. Pacific
Northwest is another example of private
capital building on stimulus grant money
($1.6 million) to modernize. “We are true
believers in new technology and modern
materials handling,” said Bryan Nichols,
Vigor Fab’s Director of Sales. ‘Shipbuilding
today is all about new processes and
upgraded build methodology every step of
the way from engineering and planning to
the shop floor.
“We make extensive use of modular
fabrication and assembly in everything we
build. That’s how we built the new ferries
for Washington State Ferries,” said Mr.
Nichols. “Every vessel breaks down differently, but you can count on building engine
room and pilot house and superstructure
modules. It allows us to spread our workforce out and not stack different trades one
on top of the other. It’s a lot more efficient.”
Vigor Industrial owns or operates nine
facilities in the Pacific Northwest with large
shipyards in Seattle, Washington, and
Portland, Oregon, and over 2600 employees. The privately held company’s annual
revenues are more than $US600 million.
Vigor’s assets include a new 960-foot
drydock, Vigorous – the largest floating drydock in North America. “The new drydock
is a strategic investment for Vigor and will
allow us to meet future demand, grow our
business and put more people to work
across the Pacific Northwest,” said Vigor
CEO Frank Foti of the $50 million dollars of
private investment for Vigorous.
Vigorous was immediately put into use
upon its arrival at Vigor’s Portland Swan
Island yard, with the drydocking of the SS
Algol, 936-foot vehicle cargo ship built in
the Netherlands in 1971. Algol is the first
vessel to be loaded onto Vigorous. Algol’s
sister ship, SS Capella, is also at the Swan
Island yard awaiting repairs.
Algol and Capella are large Fast Sealift
Ships operated by MARAD for Military
Sealift Command. Large ships like Algo and
Capella, as well as post-Panamax vessels,
are the types of vessels that Vigor will be
able to repair with the arrival of Vigorous.
Work on the two MARAD vessels will bring
significant revenues to Portland and the surrounding areas.
High tide for MARAD’s Small Shipyard
Grants was 2009, when US$100 million
was made available as part of the Obama
administration’s economic stimulus package. The next year funding for the grants
was US$14.7 million, and 2011 saw grant
funding slashed even further to US$10 million. However, when the flood tide of
MARAD grants started to recede, private
capital flowed into many of the rejuvenated
and updated shipyards to meet the challenges of building the new fleets of tankers,
tugs, offshore service vessels and container
ships needed to service the needs of U.S.
industry and commerce.
Bay Shipbuilding Company (BSC) of
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, is one of those
Photo: Vigor Industrial
Private sector invests
Vigor Industrial in
the U.S. Pacific
Northwest
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 26
Illustration: Seaspan
Seaspan Ferries awards contract for two new
dual-fuel vessels
easpan Ferries Corporation (SFC) announced today that it had
awarded a contract for the construction of two new dualfuelled (diesel and liquefied natural gas) ferries to Sedef
Shipyard of Istanbul, Turkey. The 148.9 metre ferries are being
ordered to replace ferries that are reaching the ends of their useful
lives. The electrical system, including the hybrid electrical propulsion system, battery system and automation system will be
subcontracted to a Turkish subsidiary of Imtech Marine of the
Netherlands. Both ferries are expected to be in operation by late
2016, and will accommodate up to 59 trailers. Construction is
scheduled to start in early 2015.
“Seaspan is pleased to partner with Sedef Shipyard to build two
new state-of-the-art ferries,” said Steve Roth, Vice-President, Seaspan
Ferries Corporation. “Today’s announcement demonstrates a clear
commitment to our drop-trailer customers through the modernization of an aging fleet.”
“One of Seaspan’s Core Values is care for the environment and
we are committed to ensuring the conservation of Canadian oceans
S
and waterways,” said Steve. “These new, technologically advanced
ferries will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions significantly compared to current alternatives while ensuring the highest level of
efficiency, performance and reliability.”
SFC’s contract award comes on the heels of an extensive and
competitive procurement process that included more than 40 shipyards around the world, as well as a thorough analysis of Seaspan
Shipyard’s capacity to construct these vessels at its new facility at
Vancouver Shipyards. “Our decision to have a non-Seaspan shipyard
build our new ferries was not made lightly, but it was a simple decision based on capacity,” said Jonathan Whitworth, CEO, Seaspan.
“We are laser-focused on successfully delivering our multi-year,
multi-billion dollar project to build vessels for the men and women
of the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Coast Guard under the
National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS). We have established a world class shipbuilding and ship repair centre of excellence,
and are working to returning B.C.’s shipbuilding industry to its once
thriving roots, as evidenced by our recently completed state-of-theart facility at Vancouver Shipyards. For the next five to seven years,
our new vessel building capacity will be solely dedicated to the NSPS
Non-Combat vessels.”
Sedef Shipyard is world renowned for its shipbuilding capability
and expertise, having built more than 175 vessels since it was first
founded in 1975. Sedef is owned by Turkon Holdings, which provides marine transportation and shipbuilding services, along with
marinas, hotels and other tourism ventures. “We feel very honoured
to be chosen as Seaspan’s shipbuilding partner and we will take great
pride in building their new ferries,” said Orkun Kalkavan, Board
Member of Sedef Shipyard.“The technical side of the project is also
a matter of pride due to the dual fuel-LNG hybrid particulars of the
vessels, which we feel demonstrate our shipyard’s commitment to
building sophisticated and environmentally friendly vessels. The
entire shipyard is excited about this project and dedicated to building
Seaspan’s ships on time and on budget.”
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 27
HMCS Ojibwa wins prestigious Canadian Tourism
award
MCS Ojibwa came up a winner for
the second time this month. The
Elgin (Ontario) Military Museum
received the TIAC Brewster Travel
Innovator of the Year Award for Ojibwa’s
opening season at the Travel Industry
Association of Canada awards gala in
Ottawa Wednesday night. “This is an
incredible finish to a great year,” said Ian
Raven, Executive Director of the
Museum. “We were honoured to be finalists in the company of such amazing
competition. Every one of the four finalists should be on every Canadian’s must
see list.”
Raven asked Joe Preston, MP for
Elgin, Middlesex London, to join him on
stage in recognition of his tireless efforts to
bring Ojibwa to Port Burwell. HMCS
Ojibwa, Canada’s first Oberon Class submarine opened for tours in Port Burwell on
June 29, 2013. Since that time, almost
50,000 people have taken guided tours of
the Cold War submarine. Ojibwa served Canada and NATO
during the dark days of the Cold War. Now
it is one of the few museums in Canada
that focuses on the years when “Mutually
Assured Destruction” was a household
term, and school children learned to duck,
roll and cover.
“HMCS Ojibwa is a truly unique
Photo: The Elgin (Ontario) Military Museum
H
experience. How often do you get to snoop
around a Cold War submarine?” asked
Melissa Raven, Director of Communications. “Visitors can look behind the curtain
of the Cold War to a time when world
events brought us closer to World War III
than any of us imagined.“
The Canadian Tourism Awards, presented by Deloitte, HLT Advisory Inc., and
The Toronto Star, allow Canada’s tourism
industry to recognize those people, places,
organizations and events that have gone
above and beyond to offer a superior
tourism experience to travelers in Canada.
The awards are extremely competitive and
feature nominees from all Canadian
provinces and territories. The award finalists and recipients are selected by a jury of
tourism industry professionals.
Visitors can contact the Museum at
519-633-7641 or [email protected]
to arrange winter tours.
Halifax Port Authority releases final
cruise numbers for 2014
ver 217,000 passengers visited
the port of Halifax during the
cruise season. This year, the port
welcomed 134 vessel calls with 217,305
passengers onboard from May 6 to
November 15, 2014. The biggest passenger day was October 7, 2014 with
approximately 9,200 passengers. The
2014 cruise season also saw the completion of a shore power system for cruise
vessels calling on the port allowing properly equipped vessels to turn off their
auxiliary diesel engines while connected.
“It was a busy year for cruise in
Halifax,” said Cathy McGrail, Director of
Cruise Development and Corporate
Affairs, Halifax Port Authority. “In addition
to our regular cruise traffic, our engineering and operations departments worked
tirelessly to install the shore power system
O
for cruise ships. The system is now fully
operational and we are looking forward to
putting it to use for a full season starting
next year.”
Halifax Port Authority recognizes the
work of all the various partner agencies
including vendors, tour operators and business owners who came together to provide
cruise guests with an exceptional experience during their time in Nova Scotia.
“Halifax cruise passengers have access to
an evolving roster of shore excursions,
restaurants, museums, attractions, shopping and galleries,” said Lynn Ledwidge,
Director of Marketing, Destination Halifax.
“These experiences and attractions give
cruise guests an idea of what a longer visit
to Nova Scotia would be like, and whet
their appetite to return to Halifax.” The
2015 cruise season will begin in April.
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 28
Prime Minister Harper visits Sept-Îles’ new
multi-user dock
n October 14, Prime Minister
Stephen Harper visited the worksite of the new multi-user dock at
Port of Sept Iles, which has reached a significant milestone with the completion of
civil engineering works. Mr. Harper was
accompanied by Denis Lebel, Canada’s
Minister of Infrastructure, Communities
and Intergovernmental Affairs and
Minister of the Economic Development
Agency of Canada for the Regions of
Quebec, and Jean D’Amour, Quebec’s
Minister for Transport and the
Implementation of the Maritime Strategy.
The construction phase of the multiuser dock, widely considered the largest
maritime construction project in Canada, is
now complete. All that remains is to install
loading equipment. The $220 million construction project was made possible by a 25
per cent contribution from the federal government. Alderon Iron Ore, Champion Iron
Mines, Labrador Iron Mines, New
Millenium and Tata Steel Canada underwrote a significant portion of the
development risk by financing 50 per cent
of the capital cost in the form of advances
against future wharfage fees and other fees,
on a pro rata basis to their “reserved shipping capacity”. Port of Sept-Îles covered the
remaining 25 per cent.
“Federal government funding was pivotal in helping us bring the five new dock
users on board as financial partners,” noted
Carol Soucy, Chair of Sept-Îles Port
Authority Board of Directors. “By contributing to this project, which will have a huge
impact in the region and all of Eastern
Photo: Sept-Îles Port Authority
O
Denis Lebel, Canada’s Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and
Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of
Canada for the Regions of Quebec; Carol Soucy, Port of Sept-Îles’s Chairman of the
Board of Directors; Stephen Harper, Canada’s Prime Minister; Pierre D. Gagnon,
Port of Sept-Îles’s President and Chief Executive Officer; and Jean D’Amour,
Quebec’s Minister for Transport and the Implementation of the Maritime Strategy.
Canada, the government has sent a clear
message of strong support towards our
region.”
While the construction site has now
been closed, two shiploaders, currently in
the final fabrication phases in China, are
expected to be delivered in January and
installed in early 2015. The multi-user dock
is slated to open around early summer
2015.
“This strategic facility will pave the
way for future development in the region
and the Labrador Trough,” noted Sept-Îles
Port Authority President and CEO Pierre D.
Gagnon. “The dock will be able to service
the world’s largest bulk carriers, known as
“Chinamax” class vessels—the way of the
future for bulk shipping. Thanks to their
operational efficiency and larger capacity,
these ships will help reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and the number of ships moored
in the bay.”
Railway study underscores Quebec’s
commitment to Plan Nord
québécois, a new joint venture between the
Quebec government and mining companies
Champion Iron and Adriana Resources, the
feasibility contract was awarded to Canarail, a
Montreal-based engineering firm that specializes in rail transportation. “We’re very happy
and excited about this project,” Canarail
President and Chief Executive Officer Miguel
Valero told Canadian Sailings on November
25 – the same day that the first helicopter
survey flights were carried out for the new
project. According to Valero, as many as
twenty engineers will be involved with the
project over the next twelve months. In addition to making calculations of costs, payback,
and potential economic, environmental and
ecological impacts, the study will involve geotechnical tests at roughly 100 sites beginning
next spring. Those tests will help to determine
the best alignment for the proposed railway.
“It’s an art,” said Valero. BY MARK CARDWELL
t seems that nothing – not falling commodity prices, costly mine closures, even
a deadly railroad accident that has severed
a critical land line into northern Quebec –
can dissuade the province’s Liberal government from continuing to push ahead with
Plan Nord.
The latest evidence came on November
20 when Quebec’s Minister of Mines and
Natural Resources announced the signing of a
$20-million feasibility study for the construction of a 310-km-long railroad north from
Sept-Îles to the Labrador Trough.
I
“Today’s announcement is the first concrete step we are taking with our private
partners for the realisation of this essential
study for the development of our northern territory,” said Pierre Arcand, who is also the
minister responsible for the Plan Nord strategy. “By putting in place the conditions
necessary to stimulate investments in strategic
infrastructures, notably in regards to transportation, the Quebec government is acting to
improve access into (the region).”
Sponsored by Société ferroviaire du Nord
“A hundred feet right or left can mean a savings of twenty percent
in earthwork, which is the most expensive aspect of railway construction.”
His company, he added, is familiar with the challenges of building
and operating rail lines that move large quantities of minerals across
inhospitable northern landscapes to large deep-water sea ports. Canarail
has done several railway feasibility and construction contracts for
mining companies in Quebec and Baffin Island, and as far afield as
Mongolia and Switzerland.
If built, the proposed multi-user rail line would be the third into
Quebec’s iron ore-rich Labrador Trough region. Two lines currently connect mines there with the port of Sept-Îles. One is the Cartier Railway,
which is a subsidiary of ArcelorMittal and serves the Mont-Wright mine.
The other is the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway, which
serves Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC).
However, the future of the latter is now in jeopardy following the
dramatic derailment of two locomotives and eight cars in early
November. Caused by a landslide in a remote area, the accident claimed
the life of the engineer, who was alone on the train.
Just days later, Cliffs Natural Resources announced it will suspend
activities in the region after failing to find partners to share the $1.2-billion burden of making its Bloom Lake mine viable. In addition to laying
off 400 workers, the Cleveland-based mining giant stands to lose as
much as US$700 million, with much of those losses linked to its agreement with IOC to share costs of the latter’s now-inoperative rail line.
Adding to the November gloom was a prediction by former Rio
Tinto boss Tom Albanese that weak iron ore prices are here to stay.
“As long as there is a large amount of new supply, you are going to
have a much softer pricing world than people would have anticipated for at least a couple of years,” Albanese told India’s Fairfax
Media on November 26, the day iron ore dipped below US$70 a
tonne for the first time in five years. He blamed the situation on a
2010 decision to ditch the benchmark pricing system for iron ore.
File photo
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 29
“The new normal is volatility,” said Albanese. “It’s fun on the way
up (but) painful on the way down.”
That hasn’t stopped the Quebec government from pushing ahead
with its Plan Nord development strategy for natural resources north of
the 49th parallel. Announced with great fanfare by former Liberal
Premier Jean Charest in 2011, the plan was mothballed two years later
by the short-lived minority Parti Québécois government. That was likely
the main reason why Canadian National Railway decided in Feb. 2013
to suspend its own feasibility study for a $5-billion project to build a rail
line from Sept-Îles to Schefferville. At the time, CN officials said “current
market realities” undermined the project, which involved six mining
companies and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Québec’s pension fund.
However, in its first budget after being re-elected with a majority
in April, the new Liberal government announced $100 million in spending for the revitalized Plan Nord. In addition to $63 million for road
building and repair projects, the government earmarked $20 million for
the railway feasibility study.
Europe just got a whole lot closer!
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Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 30
Replacement for MV Princess of Acadia arrives
in Saint John
ederal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt announced that the
replacement vessel for the MV Princess of Acadia, which
serves the Saint John, New Brunswick to Digby, Nova Scotia
ferry route, has safely arrived in Saint John.
MV Princess of Acadia was constructed at Saint John
Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Ltd. and entered service in 1971,
serving on the CP Ships-owned and operated Digby-Saint John
route for CP Ships until the service began to lose money by the mid1970s.
Under the terms of an earlier agreement with the federal government, CP Ships discontinued the service in 1976 and
transferred ownership of the vessel to the federal government
which created CN Marine (which was later renamed Marine
Atlantic) to operate it. In 1986, the ferry service was transferred to
Bay Ferries, a subsidiary of Northumberland Ferries Limited,
although the federal government remained the owner of the vessel
and the ferry terminals.
In 2013 the federal government announced $60 million in
funding toward a replacement of Princess of Acadia, and in
October 2014 the government announced the purchase from Blue
Star Ferries, Greece of Blue Star Ithaki, built in 2000 as a Ro-Ro
vessel by Daewoo Industries of South Korea, for about 31 million
euros.
MV Canada 2014, as Blue Star Ithaki was temporarily named
for the transit voyage, departed from the Port of Piraeus in Greece
on November 18, 2014, to arrive in Saint John on December 2.
Photo: Wikipedia
F
From Saint John, the vessel will make its way to Digby for a sea trial
and to undergo a check in its future berth. The vessel will then head
to Halifax, where engine work will take place alongside the dock to
perform a 72,000-hour engine overhaul and the conversion of the
engines from heavy fuel to marine diesel.
The vessel’s introduction into service is expected in 2015.
PROTOS SHIPPING LIMITED
SINCE
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Please visit our website at www.protos.ca for updated schedules & services
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Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 31
China Shipping takes delivery of world’s largest
container ship
he first of China Shipping Container Lines’ (CSCL) five high
capacity vessels was delivered to the carrier at the end of
November. Built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Ltd. (HHI) of
South Korea, and flying the flag of Hong Kong, CSCL Globe takes
the title as the world’s largest container vessel. Measuring 400
metres long and 58.6 metres wide, she will have the ability to carry
19,100 TEUs. Power will be supplied by a massive MAN B&W
12S90ME-C Mark 9.2 type low-speed main engine rated at 77,200
hp that is electronically controlled to enhance fuel efficiency by
automatically controlling fuel consumption according to the ship’s
speed and sea conditions. This will enable the containership to con-
Photos: China Shipping
T
sume 20 per cent less fuel per TEU in comparison with 10,000
TEU-capacity vessels.
The CSCL Globe naming ceremony was attended by Xu Li
Rong, Chairman of China Shipping Group; Zhao Hong Zhou,
Managing Director of CSCL; Qiu Guo Hong, Chinese Ambassador to
Korea; Choi Kil-seon, Chairman and CEO of HHI. The ship was
named CSCL Globe by He Li Jun, the spouse of Mr. Xu. CSCL will take delivery of four sister vessels, CSCL Pacific
Ocean, CSCL Atlantic Ocean, CSCL Indian Ocean and CSCL Arctic
Ocean in the first quarter of 2015, following which they will be
deployed on the Asia to Europe trade lane.
CHINA SHIPPING (CANADA) AGENCY CO. LTD.
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Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 32
Plasma waste-to-energy firm establishes itself at the
port of Hamilton
ne of the most exciting developments on the horizon at the
port of Hamilton will be the plasma gasification energyfrom-waste facility at the port’s Pier 15 being established by
Port Fuels and Materials Services Inc., a Canadian subsidiary of
Leveraged Green Energy Inc., a U.S. private equity firm specializing
in green energy initiatives. Plasma gasification is a non-combustion
process that converts non-hazardous organic matter into synthetic
gas (‘syngas’) using very high temperatures. The syngas is used to
feed turbines, which in turn produce electricity.
The facility will use waste produced by port tenants and nearby
businesses as its feedstock, and in turn will produce green energy that
can be used locally. Marine waste is another significant potential feedstock, unique to the port environment. Comments Bruce Wood, the
Port Authority’s President and CEO: “We believe the proposed facility offers a clear benefit to the port and its users. Furthermore, it
represents a special opportunity for Hamilton to establish itself as a
leader in clean technology, with new investments and new, cleantech related businesses fueled by this anchor investment.”
HPA sees a number of benefits from this development, both
environmental and economic. It will provide a cost-effective waste
solution for port tenants, and will reduce the port’s overall environmental footprint by treating waste close to source, while creating
clean energy. In the province of Ontario, industrial electricity rates
represent a significant cost of doing business. This facility will position the port to offer a source of competitively-priced green energy,
creating a cost advantage for companies locating within the port community. Taken together, these advantages will enhance the port’s
value proposition to prospective tenants and other port users.
Part of the Port Authority’s rationale in pursuing this develop-
O
ment is the belief that Hamilton, as Ontario’s former industrial heartland, is the right place to launch a clean-tech cluster in Ontario. The
City of Hamilton’s Economic Development office has already identified clean tech as one of the six sectors with most growth potential
in Hamilton, because of its exceptional science and research
resources, technologically-capable workforce, and advanced manufacturing connections. Important connections with the scientific and
research community are being made, in particular with Hamilton’s
McMaster University. In 2013, the University’s Department of
Engineering hosted a scientific conference exploring the new
approach to waste treatment.
“There is significant momentum behind the adoption of plasma
gasification as the global standard in diverting waste from landfill, and
processing it close to its source,” said Robert Clark, Chief Operating
Officer of project proponent Leveraged Green Energy. “Ten years
from now, energy-from-waste will be the default preference, rather
than landfilling.”
Because they offer a contained loop of industrial activity, waste,
and energy use, ports are a logical place for facilities to be established
in Canada. Similar facilities are already active, successful, and contributing to sustainable waste management and green energy
generation in Finland, the United Kingdom, and a growing number
of other locations. This facility will position Hamilton at the forefront
of this technology in Canada.
“We recognize this proposal is a bold step,” says Bruce Wood.
“We believe it is the right step, for the right reasons: because it represents a profound improvement to the way our waste is handled
today; and because we have an opportunity to lead, and we should
take it.”
Hamilton Port Authority purchases former
Westinghouse complex
amilton Port Authority (HPA) has added a valuable warehousing asset to its portfolio of logistics-focused real estate.
The 500,000-sq.-foot former Westinghouse plant at 1632
Burlington St. is a strategic addition because it features excellent
road and rail access, multi-storey ceiling heights, and overhead
cranes capable of handling up to 180 tonnes. The complex is home
to several manufacturing businesses, and also offers vacant office
and manufacturing space which HPA will actively market to companies with specialized logistics requirements.
H
The acquisition increases HPA’s warehouse space under roof
from 2 million sq. feet to 2.5 million sq. feet. “This complex is a great
fit for us because of our already strong role in the region’s manufacturing sector,” said Bruce Wood, HPA President and CEO. “By
facilitating efficient transportation connections, we bring value and
competitiveness to the regional economy.” In particular, this new
asset provides the port with excellent heavy-lift and rail transload
capabilities. It is a strategic acquisition that will help attract new business, and also improve the service offering to customers.
HPA welcomed several new tenants as a result of this acquisition:
• Handling Specialty Manufacturing – Custom engineered and
manufactured lifts
• Kubes Steel – Steel rolling, bending and custom fabrication
• Pemco Inc. – Metal distribution
• RK Magnetics Inc. – Manufacturing and repair of
electromagnetic equipment
• Stern Laboratories – Safety testing of nuclear components
• Cole Carriers – Integrated supply chain management
• Mattawa Industrial Services Inc. – Specialty industrial
maintenance services
• JS Cowan Consulting – Pension and benefit plan consulting
• ArcelorMittal Dofasco – Storage and staging
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 33
EDC: The rise of political risk
BY PETER G. HALL, VICE-PRESIDENT AND CHIEF ECONOMIST
sk anyone you meet on the street
whether political risk has risen in
the last few years, and you’d likely
get a convincing yes. Crisis has fed our
appetite for media sensation, and on the
global political front there has been no
lack of material. What appeared to be
rock-solid regimes fell in mere days, triggering copycat events elsewhere with very
similar results, and sending tremors across
the planet’s political landscape. Prolonged
stagnation seems only to have exacerbated
tensions, suggesting a new era of heightened political instability. Have unrest and
upheaval really risen, or have we fallen
prey to media hype?
Several measures attempt to provide
an answer. Consider the Aon Political Risk
Map, a tool for assessing political risks
across the planet. Back in 2005, it seemed
that political risks were ebbing, making the
world a safer place. Three years later,
upgrades to risk assessments outpaced
downgrades almost threefold. Then in
2009, an about-face: not only did downgrades outpace upgrades, but a new ‘very
high’ risk category was created. By 2012,
there were seven times more downgrades
than upgrades. Things got better in 2013 –
briefly. But this year is again tilted deeply
toward downgrades, with each of the
BRICS countries negatively affected.
Further evidence is provided by the
Global Business Barometer. In its latest
survey, the barometer indicates that 44 per
cent of the 1,500 executives surveyed
cited political risk as a key risk they face,
the highest result in the survey’s short history. While the results have fluctuated in
the past few years, it is noteworthy that the
recent result is higher than the level of concern registered immediately following the
onset of the Arab Spring.
The MIGA-EIU Political Risk Survey
points to increased concern among international investors. When asked about the
constraints to their foreign investments,
they ranked political risk second only to
macroeconomic instability. This is substantiated by a reference to the UNCTAD
World Investment Report, which has been
recording disputes between investors and
states since the mid-1980s. The number
has surged in that time from almost no
activity to 50-60 new disputes annually.
Ten years of data in the Fragile State
Index indicate a disturbing trend. Since
2005, the number of states in the ‘high
alert’ and ‘very high alert’ categories more
than doubled. This Index measures the
degree of control a state has over its terri-
A
tory and the ability of the government to
implement policies and provide reasonable
public services.
Put these indexes together, and a general picture of increasing political risk
emerges. Our hybrid index is up by over 50
per cent since 2005, a dramatic increase
that, if sustained, paints a scary picture for
future international transactions.
Firms that are active internationally
are signaling that these messages are registering with them. The higher perception of
this class of risks has led to increased
demand for political risk insurance. This
suggests that the increased concern is not
necessarily inhibiting international activity,
but that firms are still active and desiring to
mitigate their risks through available financial instruments.
If this is indeed the attitude, it’s a
relief. International investment flows are a
critical piece of the evolving global trade
landscape. As the world gets back to the
business of growing, international investments are not just expected to resume, but
to grow more intense – for normal reasons
like access to resources, lucrative markets,
production clusters, and research and
development centers – but also for access
to large pools of labour.
Although the rising risk trend is clear,
there is still not enough data to conclude
that the change is structural, and will be
sustained into the future. Sure, the ability
to mass-organize is unprecedented, thanks
to communication technology. But another
well-known driver of dissent is prolonged
economic weakness. Time will tell which
factors dominate in the future.
The bottom line? Political risk is
clearly on the rise, and Canadian firms
active in foreign markets need to be aware
– of both the risks, and of the means available to mitigate them. And if we’re
fortunate, renewed growth may reverse the
trend.
This commentary is re-printed courtesy of
EDC. It is presented for informational purposes only. INeither EDC nor the author is
liable whatsoever for any loss or damage
caused by, or resulting from, any use of or
any inaccuracies, errors or omissions in
the information provided.
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Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 34
Port of Hamburg sets new record
ith total volume of around 110 million tonnes, Port of
Hamburg set a new cargo record for the first nine
months of 2014. The port handled 7.4 million TEUs,
which represents an increase of 6.4 per cent over the comparable
period of a year earlier. With total volume growth of 1.9 per cent
Hamburg and growth of 4.0 per cent in the number of containers
handled, the port is growing faster than competing ports in
Northern Europe.
W
120,000 TEUs, while the figure for export containers loaded for
Russia was 4 percent lower at 296,000 TEUs. The total number of
loaded containers in this trade therefore rose during the first three
quarters to 416,000 TEU (+ 2.3 percent). “With more than 160
feeder weekly connections, 32 to Russian ports, Hamburg is further expanding its function as the central hub in the container
trade for the Baltic region,” explained Ingo Egloff, a member of
Port of Hamburg Marketing’s Executive Board.
Double-digit percentage growth in container traffic
with Asia and Africa
Further rise in the number of ultra-large
containerships in Hamburg
Port of Hamburg handled 2.3 million TEUs to and from China
in the first nine months of 2014, representing a growth rate of
12.8 per cent. In trade with Indian ports, Port of Hamburg
achieved a 15.4 per cent growth rate to 176,000 TEUs.
Development of container trade with Malaysia during this period
advanced by 10.2 per cent to 203,000 TEUs. Container trade with
Africa also made excellent progress, increasing by 28.2 per cent.
Between January and September, 374 ultra-large containerships with slot capacities of over 10,000 TEUs called at Hamburg.
Up by 23.8 per cent, calls by ships of this size class underline that
dredging and widening of the navigation channel on the Lower
and Outer Elbe must be implemented. For 2015, the first registrations have been received for calls in Hamburg by ultra-large
containerships of over 400 metres in length. “This underlines the
urgent need for the navigation channel to be dredged and
widened. Today I should like to appeal to all those who care deeply
about the Port of Hamburg to make it clear that while the project
cannot just yet be realized, it is more clearly than ever on course
towards its objective”, said Hamburg’s Senator for Economy, Traffic
and Innovation.
Positive trend for the Baltic region
In the first nine months of the year 1.8 million TEUs were
transported by feeders in the Baltic trade, representing a 2.8 percent increase. Feederships carried 300,000 TEUs (+ 29.2 percent)
on container services with Polish ports. “The unwavering strong
growth of feeder services between Hamburg and Polish ports
clearly indicates that along with Hamburg’s well developed rail and
road transport services, seaborne container transport is gaining further importance for supplying the Polish market,” said Ingo Egloff,
a member of Port of Hamburg Marketing. During the first nine
months, volume handled in container traffic between Hamburg
and Russian ports reached 504,000 TEUs, which is 5.7 per cent
below the comparable figure in 2013. “After China, Russia still
occupies second place among the Port’s container partners. For the
first nine months of this year it was apparent that the weakness of
the rouble boosted the total number of loaded import containers
from Russia handled via Port of Hamburg, up by 21.9 per cent at
More general and bulk cargoes handled in the first
three quarters
General cargo movements of 78.3 million tonnes rose by 7.9
per cent. Container export TEUs were up by 6.6 percent at 3.6
million TEUs, while import TEUs were up by 6.2 per cent at 3.8
million TEUs. Breakbulk throughput was 1.1 percent higher at
1.44 million tonnes, with exports of iron and steel, paper and
timber generating the growth. At 31.6 million tonnes, 0.7 per cent
growth was reported for the bulk cargo sector, which benefited
from strong grain exports and imports. A 29.2 per cent drop in
crude oil imports was the result of downtime at a local refinery.
SDV Belgium GDP certified for air shipments of
pharmaceuticals
y entering the pharma certification program organized by
Brussels Airport and IATA (International Air Transport
Association), SDV Belgium is now fully equipped to handle
and transport all pharmaceutical products that require an unbroken
cold chain. This IATA certification demonstrates that SDV Belgium
handles all pharmaceutical air freight shipments in accordance with
the EU Good Distribution Practices guidelines. “SDV is proud to
announce this GDP certification as part of our company’s strategy to
service its growing customer base in the healthcare & life science
industry” says Peter Claessens – Sales Director for SDV Benelux.
“Healthcare & Life science is one of SDV’s fastest growing business
industry verticals, serving pharmaceutical companies, nuclear medicine sector and medical device manufacturers. Participating to the
GDP certification program in Brussels has taken us another step forward”.
B
Taking pharma handling to the next level
The global pharmaceutical industry relies on the speed of air
cargo for moving this high-value, temperature-sensitive cargo. Key to
the whole process of shipping pharmaceuticals is keeping each and
every shipment within the defined temperature parameters.
Historically, there have been an enormous number of different
regionally based regulations for the industry, but no global certification standards. That is why Brussels Airport entered into a
partnership with IATA in order to fill the void by offering a global
industry certification standard.
Partnership within the industry
Brussels Airport is now the first airport community in the world
where stakeholders are CEIV (Center of Excellence for independents
validators) Pharma certified. IATA has worked closely with the pharmaceutical industry and Regulators in the creation of the CEIV
Pharma program, which covers all aspects of time-sensitive and temperature-controlled cargo shipping, including effective cool chain
management and risk mitigation.
Today, SDV is one of the world’s top supply chain service
providers for the healthcare, aid & relief industry and the business
accounts for around 8 per cent of the company’s revenues.
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 35
Hapag-Lloyd and CSAV complete merger and become
the fourth largest container carrier in the world
apag-Lloyd and the container activities of Chilean
Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) have completed their merger, becoming the fourth-largest liner
shipping company in the world.
The merger is expected to result in many synergies. Annual
savings of at least US$300 million are anticipated as a result of network optimizations, improvements to productivity and reductions
in costs. The merged company will have around 200 vessels with
a total capacity of approximately one million TEUs, transporting
some 7.5 million TEUs every year and will set up its fourth
regional headquarter in Valparaiso, Chile. With revenue of around
US$12 billion, the combined entity joins the elite group of international shipping companies.
Rolf Habben Jansen, Chief Executive Officer of Hapag-Lloyd:
“This is a big day for both companies. With Hapag-Lloyd’s strength
in Asian traffic and on the North Atlantic, combined with CSAV’s
strong position in Latin America, we will become the leading shipping company in this region – and thereby be able to offer our
global customers an even more attractive network and wider range
of products. Our ability to compete will also be significantly
enhanced by closing the gap to the top three of our industry”. He
continues, “Our immediate priorities now are to continue to offer
excellent service to all of our customers and to honour all the commitments both companies made, whilst we plan the upcoming
integration. There will be no major changes to the way we work
until the transition to the Hapag-Lloyd systems towards the end of
H
the first quarter 2015”.
Oscar Hasbún, CEO of CSAV, adds: “We are very proud of the
fact that our two long-established companies will now become one
of the most prominent players in the global container shipping
industry and that this Company has a firm foothold in Latin
America, including our home market of Chile. We fit together perfectly thanks to our complementary network, our customer
structure, and our excellent professionalism and reputation”.
In addition to integrating CSAV’s container business into
Hapag-Lloyd, there are also plans to strengthen the Company by
raising capital of 370 million euros by 31 December 2014, in
which CSAV will take a share of 259 million euros and Kühne
Maritime 111 million euros. The ownership structure of HapagLloyd AG will therefore change as follows: CSAV will become
Hapag-Lloyd’s biggest shareholder with 34 per cent after the new
investment. The other shareholders are HGV (23.2 per cent),
Kühne Maritime (20.8 per cent), TUI (13.9 per cent), Signal Iduna
(3.3 per cent), HSH Nordbank (1.8 per cent), M.M. Warburg (1.8
per cent) and Hanse Merkur (1.1 per cent).
CSAV, HGV and Kühne Maritime have agreed to pool 51 per
cent of the shares in Hapag-Lloyd to permit them to jointly make
key decisions in the future. Of this pool structure, CSAV owns a 50
per cent participation, while HGV and Kühne Maritime will own
25 per cent each.
Technical aspects of the integration process are expected to be
completed by the end of the second quarter of 2015.
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 36
CKYHE joins other major alliances with U.S. green light
as 2M unveils schedules
BY GAVIN VAN MARLE AND MIKE WACKETT
s the CKYHE alliance gets the green light from U.S. regulators to operate as an alliance on North America routes, and
the 2M pairing of Maersk and MSC publishes its 2015
schedules, price continues to trump reliability as shippers’ top priority.
Speaking on an American Shipper webinar, Drewry Supply
Chain Advisers director Philip Damas said that while many shippers
claimed to choose their carriers on the key metrics of the cost of
freight rates and schedule reliability, “they don’t really focus on the
latter for their procurement decisions”. He added that many shippers don’t factor-in the overall cost of poor schedule reliability to
their supply chain. “Many shippers are not at the level of maturity
and sophistication to measure the trade-off between cheaper freight
rates and reliability,” he said. Part of the problem revolved around
the way schedule reliability was actually measured, he conceded.
“A big portion of so-called liner service delays are because
what was announced was wrong in the first place – shipping lines
would do better to publish their operational schedules rather than
the pro forma schedules, and I think that we will see improvements
in how carriers publish their schedules and the integration of schedules in a single alliance,” he said.
In the case of the 2M alliance, he said that one shipper
planned to book its cargo though MSC, expecting better freight
rates, but to place it on Maersk vessels, which have a reputation for
higher levels of reliability.
Mr. Damas’s comments coincided with the publication of the
2M east-west schedule, comprising 22 services operating 193 vessels with a total capacity of 2.4 million TEUs and covering 77 ports
on the Asia-North Europe, Asia-Mediterranean, transpacific and
transatlantic trades.
His point about the way the partners conceive the service
offerings differently was immediately apparent – with Maersk
retaining its standard AE prefix for Asia-Europe service, TP prefix
for transpacific services and so on; while MSC has kept its habit of
giving its services proper nouns – Eagle, Silk, Dragon, Shogun etc.
In addition, while Maersk lists six Asia-North Europe services
and five Asia-med services, MSC lists six Asia-North Europe services and six Asia-Med services, principally because one of the joint
Asia-North Europe services – Maersk’s AE9 service and MSC’s
Condor service – because it also includes a number of Med calls on
its way to Northern Europe, although these are not mentioned on
the Maersk port rotation.
In terms of port winners, the Malaysian transhipment hub of
Tanjung Pelepas will see a consolidation of Asia-North Europe
cargo, while Singapore will act as the hub for Asia-Med and transpacific traffic. In North Europe, the new German facility at
Wilhelmshaven has won two weekly calls; Bremerhaven appears to
A
ACOE
LINE
COPENHAGEN
have become the pre-eminent North European hub in the network
with five weekly calls; while its nearby rival Hamburg will see just
one.
Rotterdam and Felixstowe will both receive four weekly calls,
although the Dutch hub will have an additional eastbound call;
Antwerp, where MSC is building new hub outside the lock gates,
will have three calls a week, and a new UK call has been added at
Southampton.
The partners will offer five joint services on the transatlantic,
with three between North Europe and North America, and two
between the Mediterranean and North America, while both will
continue to offer bespoke transatlantic services that remain outside
the scope of the partnership – with MSC continuing to serve Boston
and Philadelphia from North Europe, and Maersk continuing a service into the Canadian ports of Halifax and Montreal.
There will be four joint transpacific services and two Asia-U.S.
east coast service routed via Suez, meaning there will be no service
via Panama.
Meanwhile, the Federal Maritime Commission has cleared the
CKYHE alliance to operate in the US, without the need for a further
45-day review period, after it amended two clauses in its agreement
relating to the procurement of services and the exchange of information. Commissioner William Doyle had previously expressed
concerns over the wording of the two clauses which appeared to
give the CKYHE the right to negotiate as one with ports, agencies
and other service providers, and to jointly compile and exchange
commercially sensitive data.
During meetings with the FMC, made at the request of
Commissioner Doyle, the members satisfied the government
agency that it would not abuse its “buying power” with third-party
suppliers and had its amended clause accepted in this respect.
Nonetheless, it is surprising that the FMC has still allowed the
CKYHE to procure services as one, given that this was specifically
struck out of the 2M agreement. However, Commissioner Doyle
explained that the FMC “will be specifically monitoring their
[CKYHE] interactions and activities related to suppliers and other
third-parties”.
And, in the second clause that caused the FMC concern, the
ability of the CKYHE to exchange commercial information has been
restricted to “operational matters” only.
The FMC also cleared the Ocean Three alliance of CMA CGM,
UASC and CSCL after it cleared its “low market threshold parameter”. So with yesterday’s approval of the CKYHE, the US regulator
has now cleared all four major east-west alliances to operate in US
waters.
Reprinted courtesy of The Loadstar (www.loadstar.com)
PROJECT/HEAVYLIFT
TYPE VESSELS WITH MONTHLY SAILINGS
FROM U.S. GULF AND ST. LAWRENCE
TO FAR EAST, S. AMERICA, MED., RED SEA, P.G.
NORTH AMERICAN GENERAL AGENTS
SEA PROJECTS ALLIANCE INC.
TEL.: (514) 848-0448
FAX: (514) 848-0552
[email protected]
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 37
G6 cancels calls to congestion-hit Los Angeles as ships
queue outside the port
BY MIKE WACKETT
he G6 alliance will omit eastbound
calls at the port of Los Angeles on
the next four sailings of one of its
Asia-US west coast loops, due to the
“ongoing congestion”. According to a customer advisory from G6 member APL, it
will also skip other calls at the carrier’s
Global Gateway South (GCS) terminal to
enable it to “remain fluid”.
Due to the greater complexity of its
terminal operations, the G6 grouping has
probably been the worst affected of the
alliances by the chronic congestion that
has blighted the ports of Los Angeles and
Long Beach over the past few months.
Local maritime information agency Marine
Exchange has at times reported up to five
G6 member ships at anchor, awaiting
berths in the Los Angeles-Long Beach complex. Moreover, APL has itself gone on
record blaming port congestion at Los
Angeles as a major reason for its third-quarter losses.
Meanwhile, contract negotiations
resumed between the International
Longshore and Warehouse Union and
employers’ representative Pacific Maritime
T
Association after the Thanksgiving break,
but there appeared to be few signs of goodwill or optimism after nine months of
painful talks that have made little progress
on agreeing a new labour contract.
The previous six-year deal expired on
1 July, and although ILWU members are
said to be working through the negotiations, there has been plenty of
mud-slinging from both sides, leading to
sporadic slowdowns and disruptions –
unwelcome additional problems for the
busy LA/LB terminals to overcome.
Shippers fear that the talks over a new
labour contract for the west coast’s 29
ports will eventually break down, sparking
industrial action by ILWU members that
will considerably exacerbate the congestion.
A survey earlier in the year by the
National Retail Federation and the
National Association of Manufacturers
concluded that a west coast port shutdown
could cost the US economy an estimated
$2bn a day.
However, local forwarders believe that
with sufficient will, congestion in the area
could be solved. UTi Worldwide executive
vice-president of operations Ed Feitziner
recently told The Loadstar: “We do believe
that if terminals are provided with sufficient
labour, with no slow-downs, there is a short
window through to January to allow terminals to clean up a bit.
“However, the fact is that 12,000
TEU-plus vessels in most of the U.S. west
coast is the norm now, and the terminals
have made few adjustments to accommodate
the
aggregate
increase
in
throughput.” In addition, the congestion is
considerably worsened by the complexity
of haulage operations serving the ports,
according to other sources.
“You have the owner-operators who
are protesting because they haven’t seen a
rise in rates since 2008; you have the
Teamsters protesting against the owneroperators because they feel they should be
unionized, and if the Teamsters form a
picket line the ILWU won’t cross it.
Anyone who has a gripe realizes that this is
the time to make their point.”
Reprinted courtesy of The Loadstar
(www.loadstar.com)
Manitoulin Global Forwarding acquires Canfleet
Logistics Ltd.
anitoulin Global Forwarding has acquired Canfleet Logistics
Ltd., of Vancouver, British Columbia. This is the latest strategic investments Manitoulin has made in Western Canada in
recent years to build out its offerings and coverage in the region. The
purchase of Canfleet, with its export capabilities to Asia, strengthens
Manitoulin’s access to high-growth Asian markets, where many of its
customers do business, and advances its overall global reach.
“In order to continue to meet our customers’ emergent needs,
Manitoulin is maintaining a trajectory of steady growth by acquiring
businesses that improve our geographic reach or which provide highquality offerings that complement our own,” said Dwayne Hihn,
President, Manitoulin Global Forwarding. “Canfleet delivers on both
accounts with improved access to Asia and excellent exportation
capabilities that mirror Manitoulin’s importation strengths. We now
have the expertise and volume capabilities to create greater efficiencies for our customers, whether exporting or importing, to Asia or
around the world.”
Founded in 2005, Canfleet has established itself as a provider of
integrated logistics solutions, ocean freight operations, and global
supply chain management to customers in the lumber, agriculture,
scrap metal, and automobile export industries. It also provides refrigerated transportation for perishable goods.
“An on-going quest for Manitoulin is to extend our customers’
global reach, with an emphasis on Asia because the West to Asia and
intra-Asia lanes are only going to get busier,” said Gord Smith, CEO,
M
Manitoulin Group of Companies. “To that end, earlier this year,
Expedite Plus, a member of Manitoulin Group of Companies, launched
sites in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing to strengthen the company’s
ability to manage urgent shipments throughout Asia and beyond. Now,
we can make even greater inroads into Asia through Canfleet’s Asian
markets expertise coupled with its ideal location in Vancouver, British
Columbia — Canada’s gateway to Asia.”
Under the purchase agreement, all Canfleet employees, including
its founder and former owner, and all assets have transferred to
Manitoulin Global Forwarding. ODYSSEY SHIPPING
Weekly LCL Service
Africa – Asia – Australia – Middle East – Europe –
South America – United Kingdom
Online Bookings 24/7
www.odysseyshipping.com
Tel.: (514) 631-2880 Toll Free: 1-877-631-2880
Email: [email protected]
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 38
Ship’s crane collapse in Quebec prompts warning from
safety body
anada’s Transportation Safety Board has issued a warning to
shipowners regarding cargo-handling cranes in the aftermath
of a “catastrophic” crane failure on a bulk carrier this
summer in Quebec. TSB, which issued the warning in a November
24 news release, said the failure occurred August 13 on the bulk
carrier Seaspace at the port of Bécancour. The slewing ring bearing
on the ship’s cargo crane #4 “broke apart,” the news release said,
“and the complete cabin and jib assemblies collapsed into a cargo
hold, injuring the crane operator.”
TSB and Transport Malta’s Marine Safety Investigation Unit are
investigating. Built in 2010, Seaspace, which has a deadweight tonnage of 56,894, sails under the Malta flag.
“There is a possibility that the same progressive failure of a slewing ring bearing will occur on any vessel fitted with similar cargo
handling cranes,” the news release said.
TSB has asked the International Association of Classification
Societies to share information about the safety risk to vessel owners.
However, no data base of those owners exists, TSB said.
C
Wuhan Marine Machinery Plant Co. Ltd. of China built the
crane under licence for Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co.
Ltd. (IHI) of Japan, according to TSB. “It was an electro-hydraulic jib
crane of the slim type SS36T (serial number DC09-11102-4). The
slewing ring bearing assembly was fabricated by Dalian Metallurgical
Bearing Co. Ltd. of China under the standard JB/T2300 of the type
133.34.2300.00.03 (2-row roller slewing ring bearing with internal
gear, serial number D00984).”
The Port of Bécancour is on the south shore of the St. Lawrence
River near Trois-Rivières, about 150 kilometres from Montreal and
Quebec City. Seaspace is among a series of 443 sister ships built at
various Chinese shipyards between 2008 and 2014.
“Vessel owners should take whatever measures considered
appropriate to ensure the integrity of any similar unit in service on
board vessels,” TSB warned. The agency is calling on anyone taking
measures to deal with such cranes to contact TSB by phone at 1-800387-3557 or by email at [email protected].
ZIM reports an improved third quarter
ollowing completion of the company’s
debt restructuring on July 16, 2014,
ZIM reported improved results for the
third quarter ending September 30. The
$3.4 billion debt restructuring, which
included a debt to equity swap of $1.4 billion, significantly improved the Company’s
financial strength and restored a positive
net worth.
Revenues for the quarter were $854
million, compared to $875 million in the
previous quarter and $900 million in the
corresponding quarter last year. Average
freight rate per TEU was $1,281, an
increase of $75 per TEU (6 per cent) compared to the freight rate in the previous
quarter, and an increase of $79 per TEU (7
per cent) compared to the corresponding
quarter last year.
F
On a GAAP basis, the Company had a
negative EBITDA of $97 million in the third
quarter compared to $29 million profit in
the second quarter of 2014 and $56 million
profit in the corresponding quarter last year.
On a GAAP basis, the net loss incurred
during the third quarter of 2014 was $63
million, compared to a $68 million loss in
the second quarter and $42 million loss in
the corresponding quarter last year.
Operating cash flow in the third quarter was
$37 million, an improvement of $18 million
compared to the previous quarter and an
improvement of about $22 million compared to the corresponding quarter last year.
The company carried 557,000 TEUs
during the quarter, reflecting a 10 per cent
decrease compared to the previous quarter
and a decline of 13 per cent compared to the
Guy Tombs Limited
Since 1921
L O G I S T I C S
The Original Canadian freight forwarder
s)NNOVATIVEPROJECTANDHEAVYEQUIPMENTFORWARDING
s)NTERNATIONALDOORTODOORSERVICESINALLMODESOFTRANSPORT
s'LOBALINKPARTNERSINOVEROFlCESIN+COUNTRIES
I n c
LCL OCEAN & AIR CARGO
CARIBBEAN, CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
Tel.: (514) 636-6333
www cargosdi.ca
Fax.: (514) 636-5783
E-mail: [email protected]
AIR & LCL OCEAN TO THE
CARIBBEAN, CENTRAL
& SOUTH AMERICA
DIRECT WEEKLY SAILINGS
TEL
TOLLFREE
EMAILINFO GUYTOMBSCOM
www.guytombs.com
CARGO
NAVIGATORS
corresponding quarter in 2013. Most of the
decrease was as a result of terminating service from Asia to Northern Europe as part of
re-alignment of the business plan, which
focuses on maintaining and enhancing profitable routes where the company offers
added value to its customers, while improving and upgrading its points of interface with
customers and continuing to improve its
operational efficiency.
In spite of the reduction in revenues
and volume of containers carried, ZIM managed to reduce the net loss and recorded an
operating profit thanks to its continued
efforts to drive efficiency, improving sales
and service activities, combined with the
benefits of lower fuel prices, reducing
unprofitable routes, and increasing freight
rates where necessary.
Tel.: (905) 405-0808 • Fax: (905) 405-0202
Email: [email protected]
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 39
Seaway on its way to a
five-year record?
otal cargo shipments through the St. Lawrence Seaway
reached 34.6 million tonnes for the period from March 25 to
November 30 — up 5 per cent over the same period last year.
Seaway management expect the season will close ahead of last year
by a similar margin.
Grain shipments (Canadian and U.S.) tallied 10.1 million
tonnes, up 44 per cent over 2013. This total included the most
Canadian grain routed through the Seaway for that period in 13
years. A surge in Prairie grain throughout the year has the Port of
Thunder Bay on track for its best season in 16 years and Ontario grain
exports through ports such as Hamilton, Windsor, Goderich and Port
Colborne have also been up significantly this autumn.
Renewed construction activity and automotive manufacturing
in Canada and the U.S. lifted steel shipments by 80 per cent this
season to 2.2 million tonnes. The ports of Oshawa, Hamilton and
Windsor have all seen major increases in steel imports.
Nearly 2 million tonnes of new business also helped to offset
decreases in iron ore and coal shipments this year. One example of
new cargo is European wood pellets inbound to the Port of Thunder
Bay for transport to the city’s generating station on Mission Island.
But close to a fifth of the new business total has been salt imports
heading to destinations such as Detroit, Toledo and Milwaukee.
These have been supplementing a huge demand by cities, towns,
businesses, schools and hospitals for road salt from domestic mines.
Salt shipments are up by 47 per cent to 3 million tonnes.
David Cree, CEO of Windsor Port Authority, commented that
“Shipments out of Windsor Salt Mine’s Ojibway dock were up 26 per
cent up to the end of October with barges travelling non-stop across
the Detroit River and other domestic carriers transporting road salt to
communities throughout the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region.
Ontario grain exports have also been up 10 per cent and general
cargo shipments have jumped by 50 per cent as steel has flowed into
the port for the local automotive industries and construction manufacturing companies. These trends have all continued into November
and we expect more of the same for the final month of the season.”
If weather conditions remain mild, and December volumes
through the Seaway equal November volumes, the Seaway may set a
new five-year volume record, and will be on its way in approaching
pre-recession shipping levels.
T
January 16, 2015
THE MARINE CLUB
Annual Dinner and General Meeting
The Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto, Ontario
contact: 905-545-3755
[email protected]
www.themarineclub.org
January 28-29, 2015
CARGO LOGISTICS CANADA
Expo and Conference
Vancouver Convention Centre West
contact: 604-739-2112 ext. 0, Gillian Wright
[email protected]
cargologisticscanada.com/index.php
March 1-3
TRANSPORT INSTITUTE
The Warming of the North
Shaw Centre, Ottawa, Canada
Contact: 204-474-9097, Kathy Chmelnytzki
[email protected]
www.umti.ca
March 18-19
6TH ARCTIC SHIPPING SUMMIT
Montreal, Canada
contact: +44 (0) 203 141 0606, Mohammad Ahsan
[email protected]
CN and USW reach
tentative agreement
N announced that it has reached a tentative agreement with
the United Steelworkers (USW) union Local 2004 to renew
the labour contract for approximately 3,000 CN maintenance-of-way employees represented by the USW in Canada. The
current CN-USW labour agreement is scheduled to expire on Dec.
31, 2014.
Jim Vena, CN Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating
Officer, said: “We are pleased to have reached a new four year agreement with the Steelworkers before the current contract expires at
month’s end. The discussions reflected a desire to address issues of
mutual concern and generated solutions for both sides.”
USW members inspect, maintain and repair CN’s track, bridges
and structures in Canada. The union is expected to announce ratification results before the end of January 2015.
C
Sailings1055 2014-12-12 12:41 PM Page 40
CANADA’S MOST MODERN SHIPYARD
Seaspan's Shipyard Modernization Project is complete! On November 6, 2014,
Vancouver Shipyards officially celebrated the completion of its two-year, $170M
Shipyard Modernization Project ahead of schedule and under-budget.
Funded entirely by Seaspan, this project has transformed Vancouver Shipyards
into the most modern facility in North America allowing for the efficient delivery
of Non-Combat vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy.
www.seaspan.com

shipbuilding and repair

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