Orphan orca's extended family spotted off northeast side of Vancouver Island

The Canadian Press
Tue, May 21, 2024 

ALERT BAY, B.C. — Members of a killer whale pod related to an orphan orca calf that escaped a remote British Columbia tidal lagoon last month have been spotted off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.

Marine scientist Jared Towers says in a social media post he was surprised to see members of the calf's great grandmother's pod swimming in ocean waters near Alert Bay.

Towers, an expert in identifying whales by their distinct individual markings, says he saw the T109 pod swim out of Pearse Pass near Alert Bay on Monday, but the female orphan known as kwiisahi?is or Brave Little Hunter was not with the killer whales.

Alert Bay is about 100 kilometres south of Zeballos near Esperanza Inlet where kwiisahi?is was last reportedly seen earlier this month, after she swam free of the lagoon where she had been trapped for weeks after her pregnant mother became stranded and died on March 23.

Towers, who could not be reached for comment, says in his post there have been no reported sightings of the calf since May 10, which likely means she is on the move looking for family.

He says there are previous cases of lost or orphaned killer whale calves reuniting with their extended families or being adopted by other orcas, but it takes time and is not guaranteed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2024.

B.C.'s Site C dam should have minimal impact on N.W.T. water levels, hydrologist says

CBC
Tue, May 21, 2024 

The Site C Dam location is seen along the Peace River in Fort St. John, B.C., in 2017. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press - image credit)

A hydrologist with the N.W.T. government says that filling B.C.'s Site C dam on the Peace River will have minimal impact on waterways downstream, including Great Slave Lake and the Slave and Mackenzie Rivers.

Later this summer, B.C. Hydro is planning to fill the reservoir of the Site C dam. That has some N.W.T residents concerned about the effects downstream, as water levels in the territory are already at historic lows.

Ryan Connon, hydrologist with the territorial government, said when the dam is filled, there will be a "one-time loss" on Great Slave Lake.


The maximum impact, Connon said, would be a loss of 8.5 centimetres on lake. He said that water likely won't be permanently taken away, because snow melt and rain will replenish it.

He said that when Site C is filled, the "most notable impact" will be on the Peace River, followed by the Slave River, then Great Slave Lake, and then the Mackenzie River.

Impacts on the Mackenzie River will be less than on Great Slave Lake, but Connon said he can't give an exact number because water levels along the river fluctuate, with higher water where the river is more narrow.

People could see different changes throughout the river, depending on where they are.

"In the summer, some of those events could be augmented by precipitation, making them even more striking," Connon said.

Significant changes to the river levels over the summer are probably a combination of precipitation and the W.A.C. Bennett dam in northern B.C., Connon said.

'Huge impacts'

Jon McDonald, the environmental manager for the Fort Smith Métis Council, helps monitor water quality and wildlife along the Slave River.

McDonald said the council is concerned about impacts of the W.A.C. Bennett dam, and that there's been lower water downstream and greater fluctuations in water levels since the dam was installed.


Jon McDonald with the team of field workers deploying remote wildlife monitoring cameras.

Jon McDonald, the environmental manager for the Fort Smith Métis Council, said the council is concerned about impacts of the Bennett Dam. (Submitted)

"There's very little to no communication from the dams as to when they're releasing or retaining water," McDonald said. "The impacts I don't think are fully addressed."

McDonald also said changing water levels have impacts on wildlife, like spawning fish having trouble going up the river.

"There's huge impacts when the waters are fluctuating like that," McDonald said.

McDonald is worried that filling the Site C Dam could reduce water levels further.

"That's a large volume of water, to drop down 8.5 centimetres" he said. "It's definitely going to impact the environment."

 

Lululemon to acquire Mexico franchisee, retail locations

Kim Bhasin, Bloomberg News

Lululemon Athletica Inc. has agreed to acquire the operations and retail locations of its franchise partner in Mexico.

The local franchisee, Lululemon Mexico, runs 15 stores in the country and has been in business since the Vancouver-based athletic-wear brand entered the market in 2017. All its employees will migrate over to Lululemon, the company confirmed in an email. It didn’t disclose financial terms. 

“Mexico remains an exciting market for Lululemon,” Celeste Burgoyne, president of Americas and global guest innovation at Lululemon, said in an emailed statement. “We believe we are well-positioned to continue expanding in the region.”

Chief Executive Officer Calvin McDonald said on a conference call with analysts in March that all its international markets have had “strong momentum” this quarter. The company has been on a strong post-pandemic run with double-digit sales growth despite declines at many North American apparel retailers. 

 

ISS supports Gildan nominees put forward by activist shareholder Browning West

The Canadian Press

Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. is throwing its support behind a slate of board nominees and a former chief executive that dissident Gildan Activewear Inc. shareholders have been fighting to see run the company.

ISS, a prominent advisory service, is recommending shareholders vote for eight nominees put forward by Browning West and withhold votes from another slate pitched by the Montreal-based apparel manufacturer's current management.

The Browning West slate includes former Gildan chief executive Glenn Chamandy, while the group put forward by management features current chief executive Vince Tyra.

A report ISS issued to detail their recommendations points out that Gildan's operating performance over the last five years was moderately better than its peers and adds Tyra's past experience fails to establish him as a superior option to Chamandy.

Chamandy was ousted from Gildan last year to make way for Tyra. At the time, the company said it made the swap because Chamandy had no credible long-term strategy for the company and had lost the board's trust and confidence.

A spokesperson for Gildan says the company has no comment on the ISS recommendations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2024.

Gildan investors should back browning and reinstate fired CEO, ISS says

Crystal Tse and Derek Decloet, Bloomberg News

Gildan Activewear Inc. shareholders should vote for all eight board nominees put forward by activist investor Browning West LP, including the chief executive officer who was fired by the board last year, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. said. 

It’s a big victory for Browning West, which has a 5 per cent stake in Gildan and has been waging a monthslong campaign to turf the current board and bring back Glenn Chamandy as CEO. He was ousted in December after an internal battle over strategy and succession. 

“The dissident has presented a compelling case to reverse the change implemented by the legacy board,” ISS said in a report to clients.

Montreal-based Gildan makes cheap clothing for companies such as Walmart Inc. and owns the American Apparel brand.

Browning’s proposed slate is led by Michael Kneeland, the chair of United Rentals Inc., who would become the new chair of Gildan if the investment firm is successful in the shareholder vote that’s scheduled for May 28. 

Two Gildan lawsuits against Browning West dismissed amid leadership battle: investor

The Canadian Press

Browning West LP says two lawsuits launched by Gildan Activewear Inc.'s board against the investor have been dismissed.

The activist investor is among several major Gildan shareholders that have been campaigning to have the clothing maker's former CEO reinstated.

In a statement Thursday, Browning West said the two lawsuits were dismissed by the Superior Court of Quebec and the Quebec Financial Markets Administrative Tribunal.

Gildan announced late last year that longtime CEO Glenn Chamandy was being replaced, and several investors including Browning West are now fighting to have him brought back. 

Browning West has nominated eight people including Chamandy for election to the Gildan board of directors at the company's annual meeting on May 28.

Gildan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2024.

 

Equifax Canada exploring use of payday loan data in credit score calculation

The Canadian Press

Equifax Canada says it's exploring how using payday loan data could affect people's credit scores.

The agency says including data sources that aren't traditionally used to calculate credit scores could help paint a more complete picture of consumers' credit health. 

Equifax says this could improve credit scores for consumers with "responsive repayment of payday loans," potentially leading to better loan terms and interest rates for those customers as they seek to rebuild their credit. 

Last month, Equifax said it was exploring the use of rental data in calculating credit scores, adding that including "alternative data" could establish or enhance the credit scores for millions of Canadians. 

The federal budget called on banks, fintechs and credit bureaus to prioritize launching tools that would allow renters to opt in to reporting their rent payment history

The government says this could help more renters become homeowners by strengthening their credit scores if they have a history of on-time rental payments. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2024.

 

 

Bank chief executives summoned to House of Commons environment committee

The Canadian Press

A parliamentary committee has summoned Canada's big five bank CEOs to talk about the environmental and climate impacts of the financial system.

The House of Commons environment committee has set a date of June 13 for the chief executives of RBC, TD Bank, CIBC, BMO and Scotiabank to appear, according to meeting minutes. 

A summons, similar to a subpoena, is generally used to compel attendance when invitations to appear are declined.

RBC, BMO, CIBC and Scotiabank all confirmed that their chief executives will attend the committee meeting, while TD did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The banks have faced scrutiny for their lending practices and environmental track record, including the hundreds of billions of dollars in funding they've provided to fossil fuel companies in recent years. 

Banks have made both short and long-term emission reduction targets, but face criticism for not moving fast enough. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2024.

 

CMHC says regulations, 'fragmented' construction sector weigh on housing starts

The Canadian Press

A study by Canada's national housing agency says housing starts aren’t keeping pace with available residential construction resources due to restrictive regulations and a "highly fragmented" industry.

In an analysis published Thursday, Mathieu Laberge, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. senior vice-president of housing economics and insights, said Canada has the potential to build more than 400,000 homes per year — around two-thirds higher than the 240,267 housing starts last year.

That's based on a calculation of housing start potential for 2023 had it reflected the level of construction labour productivity of the early 2000s. It also reflects a scenario where the national rate of housing starts equalled that of the most productive major cities — Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

"We could build, actually, a lot more based on what we used to do before, or based on what is being done right now in the best performing cities across the country in terms of housing starts," Laberge said in an interview.

He said those calculations even account for Canada's growing construction labour shortage, noting there were roughly 650,000 workers building homes in Canada in 2023, which is "the most we’ve ever seen."

Earlier this year, the shortage was cited by CMHC in its housing supply report as one of three main factors contributing to longer construction times.

"If you look 20 years ago, we built housing starts with a lot less labour, and so that begs the question: why? I haven't heard a compelling response to that," said Laberge.

"We need to get into why, from the early 2000s to early 2010s, were we able to build ... the same level of housing starts with a lot less labour than now."

Laberge proposes regulatory reform, particularly at the municipal level, as one solution to increasing productivity. He said rules around permit delivery, how many storeys and units a building can contain and development charges stand in the way of further development in many regions.

Some regions have seen movement on that front. Laberge's study points to zoning reforms introduced by the B.C. government, to be implemented by municipalities, allowing for more density.

"What we see is the highest performers in that ratio are also those that have the more flexible regulation," he said.

"When it comes to permitting process, that plays a big role. When it comes to densification and zoning, it plays a big role. When it comes to development charges, it plays a big role."

He also argues industry consolidation could help build homes more efficiently, with 69 per cent of construction businesses currently having fewer than five employees.

Fragmentation in the Canadian residential construction sector is more apparent in some regions of the country, according to the agency. It said low market consolidation hinders investment in research and development, efficient recruitment, training, resource allocation and project management.

The report said consolidation could help generate economies of scale and enable some production savings to be passed on to Canadians.

The federal government unveiled a plan last month to build 3.87 million new homes by 2031.

It said provinces, territories and municipalities will also need to step up, dubbing the plan a “call to action" for various levels of government to work together and create incentives that will spur housing development.

Laberge said that goal remains possible but it will require changes, like those he recommends, to happen soon.

"Structural changes take time," he said.

"What we need is for the structural changes to occur now, so that down the road, we get to a point where we need to be."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2024.

 

Hard-working fire crews, rain help keep Fort McMurray wildfire from growing

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

Every day since a wildfire began menacing the city of Fort McMurray, Alta., grimy, exhausted firefighters have been spilling out of helicopters at the end of another one of the toughest shifts around.

Hard, manual labour?

"Yes," said Gavin Hojka, incident commander in charge of 172 wildland firefighters. "Very."

There is no road access to the front lines of the fire, which did not grow Thursday thanks to cool, damp weather and the hard work of the crews.

Teams of between eight and 20 are dropped off by helicopters early each the morning. They make their way on foot to the flames carrying pumps, chainsaws, shovels, axes and hoses — lots and lots of hoses.

"They'll be bringing a dozen boxes of hose for the day," Hojka said. 

"Every single day we're bringing out more hose. There are thousands and thousands of feet of hose."

Each box of hose weighs about 27 kilograms. The pumps that fill them weigh about 30 kilograms, carried on someone's back to the nearest beaver pond, stream or river. 

With water and hand tools they attack the fire for between 12 and 14 hours at a stretch, fuelled only by the bag lunch in their packs. Then the helicopter comes to pick them up for a little rest before they're back at it.

"We do everything we can to bring them home at night," said Hojka. "We make sure we have someone flying around in a helicopter being an eye in the sky, a lookout."

Still, the fire remained out of control and about 6,600 residents of the oilsands hub remained out of their homes. 

Neighbourhoods such as Beacon Hill and Grayling Terrace were deserted Thursday, garbage cans lined up neatly on driveways beside cars, trucks and ATVs. Police, emergency workers and birds were the only ones around.   

In Grayling Terrace, crews were setting up sprinklers capable of spraying 600 litres of water a minute on trees and bush near the homes. In Beacon Hill, young poplars near homes were sprayed a deep shade of orange from fire retardant — a portion of the 168,000 litres of the phosphate-based chemical that's been sprayed around the city. 

Still, the fire remained about 200 square kilometres in size and just under six kilometres from Fort McMurray's southern outskirts. Despite the favourable weather, evacuees aren't expected to be allowed back until after the long weekend.

The city's court system was temporarily shut down and schools were closed. 

Thousands of residents fled the city on Tuesday, fearing a repeat of the 2016 wildfire that forced out the entire community and torched more than 2,400 homes.

But the city was slowly coming back to as normal as possible. 

Grocery stores were open and well stocked, with an abundance of toilet paper. Restaurants, many of which closed Tuesday, reopened.

"We closed down for the initial day, just so all of our staff could look after their families," said Shelby Thompson of Montana's BBQ and Bar. 

"We opened the next day," Thompson said. "Regular hours."

At the city's Peter Pond Mall, there was initial confusion about Tuesday's evacuation order and stores shut their doors, said Shauna Hannam, the mall's specialty leasing manager.

Many employees, fearing a 2016 rerun, "rushed to get ahead of the game," she said. 

"For a lot of people, it was history repeating itself: 'I'm just going to get my family out of here right now.'

"The next day, when half the city wasn't evacuated, that's when the confusion set in. People weren't sure whether they were going to work."

Slowly, they are. Hannam said more than half the mall's stores were open Thursday.

Other fires across Western Canada have also forced residents out of their homes.

In northern British Columbia, a blaze threatening Fort Nelson was about 120 square kilometres in size but heading away from the town. The community of 4,700 remained under an evacuation order.

Rob Fraser, the mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, said some structures were damaged on rural properties outside Fort Nelson. He did not say how many or if they included homes.

Cooler temperatures and higher humidity were expected to help firefighters over the coming days. Fraser said there was no timeline for when evacuees might return.

"We don't want to be in that situation where we turn people back to the community and three days later we just send them out again," Fraser said. "That would be just a nightmare." 

In Manitoba, 675 people have been forced out of the area in and around the northwestern community of Cranberry Portage. There was no word on when they might be able to return.

The province said the fire remained less than two kilometres from the community. Power and phone service have been restored.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2024.

 

Canada is exploring higher tariffs on Chinese EVs, trade minister says

Brian Platt, Bloomberg News

Canada is examining whether it needs to raise tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles after the White House announced major new levies on them, Trade Minister Mary Ng said.

“We are looking at this very carefully and we have an open dialogue with our American partners,” Ng said in a phone interview from Peru, where she’s attending meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

The Biden administration announced sweeping new tariffs against China this week, targeting semiconductors, solar cells and other products. The new U.S. tariff on Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles will take effect this year, with a final tariff rate of 102.5 per cent, up from 27.5 per cent. 

Canada imposes a small tariff of about 6 per cent on Chinese vehicles. Asked whether it may need to align its own tariffs with the U.S., Ng said again the government is speaking with U.S. officials about the policy, “and we are absolutely looking at this.”

Ng stressed that Canada’s main focus is on producing electric vehicles domestically. She pointed to agreements that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has signed with automakers such as Honda Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG to make electric vehicles, batteries or components in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province.

The country’s auto sector is highly integrated with U.S. vehicle makers; parts and finished cars and trucks flow easily across the border between Ontario and key U.S. manufacturing states such as Michigan and Ohio. 

Chinese factories have a very small share of Canada’s auto market, but the country has recently witnessed a surge of imports of Chinese-made Tesla Inc. models manufactured in Shanghai. 

The number of cars arriving from China at the port of Vancouver rose more than fivefold last year, to about 44,400, after Elon Musk’s automaker started shipping Model Y vehicles from there.

If Canada follows U.S. lead on Chinese EV tariffs, impact could be huge

Kristian Koschany, BNN Bloomberg

In a strategic election-year manoeuvre, U.S. President Joe Biden has introduced substantial tariff increases on various Chinese goods, aiming to strengthen domestic production in crucial sectors. This initiative, designed to shield American labour and businesses from what Biden deems unfair practices such as theft and dumping of under-priced goods, nearly quadruples tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) and extends tariffs to semiconductors, batteries, solar cells, and critical minerals.

According to the White House, these amendments will affect approximately US$18 billion of annual imports. Biden described these tactics by China as not merely competitive but outright cheating, highlighting the detrimental impacts they've had on the American economy. The move aims to safeguard the burgeoning U.S. EV sector from competitive pressures posed by Chinese manufacturers.

“We do not have first mover advantage; the Chinese are so far ahead of everybody,” says Ian Lee, associate professor of management at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University. “And [according to the International Energy Agency], they have 60 per cent world market share of EVs. They are so far ahead of the U.S. and Canada it's not funny.”

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The Biden administration is also intensifying its scrutiny of Chinese automotive companies in Mexico as concerns grow that China may find ways to bypass the new tariffs.

The U.S. Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, indicated that the government is vigilant about Chinese efforts to establish manufacturing bases in Mexico, which could serve as a backdoor for Chinese EVs into the U.S. market.

Adding to the complexity, BYD Co., a leading Chinese EV manufacturer, this week revealed ongoing negotiations to build an EV plant in Mexico, with plans to finalize the location by year-end. This development follows the introduction of BYD's first truck in Mexico, marking a significant step in the company's expansion strategy in the region.

Could Canada and other countries follow suit?

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson have cautioned the European Union against emulating the United States' approach of imposing import duties on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs). Speaking at a joint press conference in Stockholm on Tuesday, Kristersson emphasised the importance of global trade and warned against the repercussions of a broader trade war.

“It is fundamentally a bad idea to dismantle global trade,” Kristersson said when questioned about potential EU tariffs on Chinese cars. He acknowledged the need for a level playing field and recognised the potential for disruptions in sourcing, but stressed that blocking each other’s products is not conducive for industrial nations like Germany and Sweden.

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Chancellor Scholz echoed these sentiments, highlighting the collaborative efforts between Germany and Sweden in advancing energy transitions, particularly in wind and hydrogen power, and expanding their innovation partnership in defence and space.

Major impact

Ian Lee cautions that were Canada to impose similar tariffs, it would have some fairly negative repercussions. “If Canada was to follow suit and put tariffs on, it would make EVs unaffordable for most people except for perhaps the top 20 per cent of the population. And so I think that there's going to be a political blowback if they went down that road.”

The Government of Canada is aiming to phase out the sale of new combustion vehicles by 2035 – requiring zero-emission vehicles to make up all new car sales in their place. To that end, the federal government and several provincial governments have been striving to secure a share of the North American EV market for Canada. They have already pledged substantial funds to attract other manufacturers, including Honda Motor Co. and Stellantis NV, to build out their EV supply chain in this country.

Imposing tariffs, according to Mr Lee, could prevent that goal from being met. “If we want to get to 100 per cent and the Americans are blocking Chinese EVs coming in to the United States, we're going to have to import them directly from China to meet that target, or we're going to have to extent reduce the aggressiveness of that target of 100 per cent EV [sales] by 2035 to allow domestic North American industry to build up and respond ... there's some very tough trade off decisions that will have to be made.”

Chinese-made Teslas pour into Canada as Biden erects U.S. tariff wall

Monique Mulima and Thomas Seal, Bloomberg News

The Biden administration is quadrupling U.S. tariffs on electric vehicles manufactured in China. But Chinese-made cars are still finding their way into a receptive North American market — just to the north. 

Canada is seeing a surge of imports of Chinese-made EVs, particularly Tesla Inc. models made in Shanghai. The number of cars arriving from China at the port of Vancouver rose more than fivefold last year, to 44,400, after Elon Musk’s automaker started shipping Model Y vehicles made there.

The situation is drawing howls of protest from some auto-industry players who want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to follow the White House and do more to protect the domestic industry.

Canada imposes only a small tariff on Chinese-made vehicles — about six per cent. It also allows consumers to tap a federal rebate program when they buy foreign-manufactured EVs. Since Tesla started exporting from its Shanghai factory last year, many purchasers have begun using that incentive.  

“Here you can buy a Tesla made in Shanghai and get a $5,000 purchase incentive that is funded by Canadian taxpayers — including the Canadian companies who are competing with Tesla for that vehicle purchase,” Flavio Volpe, president of Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, said in an interview. 

“We’ve raised this publicly, we’ve raised it privately, everything short of yelling at the moon from the top of a mountain to get somebody to close that door,” he said. “And it’s wide open. It’s noticed in the U.S.”

Officials with Canada’s transportation department did not reply to requests for comment. 

Three of every 10 EVs buyers requesting Canada’s federal rebate in the year ended March 31 bought a Tesla, according to data from Transport Canada — totaling some 51,000 cars. Some provincial governments, such as British Columbia, offer additional rebates worth thousands more dollars to EV buyers.

Canada remains a relatively nascent market for Chinese-made vehicles compared with Mexico, where companies including BYD Co. and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Co. have made huge inroads over the past decade with relatively cheap cars. Among Asian countries exporting EVs into Canada, Japan and Korea still dominate. 

And, as in the U.S., electric vehicles remain a relatively small part of the Canadian auto market. Canadians registered about 185,000 battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles last year — an increase of nearly 50 per cent from the year before, but still only 11 per cent of all new vehicle registrations.

The subsidies for purchasers are an attempt to drive that number higher. Trudeau’s government has set an ambitious target — 60 per cent of all new light-duty vehicles sold in the country should be zero-emission by 2030, the government says, and 100 per cent by 2035. 

Volpe and others say that’s too aggressive, and that Canada’s goals should align more closely with the U.S. The Biden administration’s recent auto-emissions rules would potentially boost battery electric vehicles to more than 50 per cent of the market by 2032, according to modeling from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Teslas sold in Canada come from Shanghai or Fremont, California, according to the company’s Canadian sales center. The company declined to comment how many vehicles exported to Canada originated at each plant. Customers can request the manufacturing location from the company, or find it with their vehicle identification number.

Canadian car dealers have started to see a growing number of Teslas manufactured in China appearing on the used car market, too, according to Huw Williams, a lobbyist for the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association. He expects that the disparity between Canadian and U.S. policy will grow in importance. 

“A legitimate question for Canadian policymakers to address is how the Biden announcement and how some of the influx of products from overseas — which countries it’s coming from — affects the Canadian mix,” Williams said. “I think you’re going to see more and more attention paid to that issue here in Canada as a result.”

 

One oil cargo's odd journey highlights global market strains

Sharon Cho and Lucia Kassai, Bloomberg News

A dearth of heavy crude is forcing one of the world’s biggest buyers to go the extra mile to get the barrels it needs, offering another example of how sanctions and OPEC+ curbs are recasting the supply chain.

Reliance Industries Ltd., India’s largest private refiner, purchased about 2 million barrels of Canada’s Access Western Blend crude from the recently expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, its first such cargo. And although that grade suits processors with sophisticated refineries such as Reliance, there were plenty of unusual logistical complexities that came with the deal.

To get the shipment delivered, Reliance is first having to load it onto four smaller tankers from Burnaby port because of local depth restrictions, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The quartet of cargoes will then be transferred onto a single very large crude carrier, before that vessel makes the more-than-19,000-kilometer voyage to India via the Pacific, they said. An alternative, possible route via the Atlantic would be longer still.

Reliance didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The complex journey reflects underlying changes in the global market that have combined to make supplies of dense and sulfurous crude harder to find. First, U.S. sanctions against Venezuela have been reimposed, cutting that nation’s supplies of heavy crude. At the same time, OPEC+ cutbacks have crimped flows of similar grades, while Mexico, another supplier, is also exporting less. Rounding it off, more heavier barrels from the Middle East are getting used locally for power generation during the hot summer months.

The increased availability from Canada, “is welcome news given that India has lost access to Venezuelan crude,” said Dylan Sim, senior oil market analyst at FGE. Still, given other options remain available, the economics of the arrangement have to be extremely favorable for the flow to stay, he said.

Some similar-quality varieties are pumped in countries including Iraq, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. 

While some Indian buyers have performed multiple ship-to-ship transfers in the past in waters off the U.S. Gulf Coast for cargoes from America and Canada, using four tankers is rare as it’s time-consuming and costly, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.

The expanded Trans Mountain began operating earlier this month after years of delays. The upgrade more than triples the capacity of the only export conduit from Alberta to the British Columbia Coast, allowing an extra 590,000 barrels a day of exports to Asia or the western U.S.

Besides India, cargoes via the pipeline have already been scheduled to go to China and California.