Eight Missing in Collision off China's Hainan Island

SAR crewmembers recover floating debris from the wreck site (Hainan Maritime Administration)

PUBLISHED APR 7, 2024 6:53 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Eight fishermen have gone missing off the coast of Hainan Island after their vessel collided with a feeder ship, according to regional search and rescue officials. 

The fishing vessel Yuenan Aoyu 36062 sank Wednesday night after colliding with the 1,000 TEU boxship SITC Danang about 20 nm to the south of Yinggehaizhen, a town on the southwestern corner of Hainan. SAR authorities have searched nearly 6,000 square nautical miles with 21 rescue vessels and five aircraft, but as of Saturday night, no survivors have been found. 

The vessel has been located using sonar and remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs), and a rescue detachment from the PLA Navy's Southern Theater Command obtained video imagery of its hull markings for confirmation.  However, the wrecked vessel is surrounded by its own loose fishing nets, and when combined with rapid currents on scene, the conditions are too dangerous for divers to approach for a search, officials told China Daily. 

The cause of the collision is under investigation. SITC Danang remains at anchor at the nearby port of Sanya, Hainan. 

 

Why MARAD Needs to Preserve the History of SASH Abuses in Maritime

File image courtesy U.S. DOT

PUBLISHED APR 7, 2024 12:02 PM BY DENISE KREPP

 

 

I’m a maritime #MeToo trailblazer, and I've asked the Maritime Administration to create a section on its website sharing the history of sexual harassment and assault in the maritime industry. I made the ask as a former Maritime Administration Chief Counsel, and I asked that my papers be included on it.

I began collecting papers the moment I became a maritime #MeToo trailblazer in 2011. I kept a copy of the letter that triggered the Department of Transportation Inspector General (IG) investigation I requested into sexual harassment and sexual assault at the US Merchant Marine Academy. I kept a copy of the letter I sent to the IG and I kept a copy of the Department of Transportation’s response to my request.

When I testified twice in 2014 before a Congressionally mandated panel, I kept copies of the transcripts. I kept a copy of the article that I wrote in 2013 that triggered the invitation. I kept a copy of the 2014 Maritime Executive article I wrote sharing information about my testimony. I wrote the Maritime Executive essay to shine a light on the problem. I kept the essay because I knew that someday historians would want to read it.

Fast forward to 2019, I kept the transcript of the US Commission on Civil Rights hearing wherein I discussed what triggered the 2011 request. I kept the 2023 essay I wrote for CNN and the 2023 essay Fox wrote about me.

When I started building the library, no one had heard of #MeToo. No one knew about Midshipman X. The lack of knowledge about either didn’t mean that crimes weren’t occurring. They were, and that’s why I testified, sought Congressional oversight, and recommended IG investigation.

When I became a maritime #MeToo trailblazer in 2011, I didn’t know what was in front of me.  I didn’t know that a distraught mother would call me asking for help for her son who was sexually assaulted. I didn’t know that it would take decade for the maritime industry to opening talk about a crime that has devastated lives. I didn’t know who would help me advocate for maritime sexual assault survivors or where the help would come from. 

What I did know was that sexual harassment and sexual assault don’t belong in the maritime industry. I also knew that sexual assault is a crime which should be prosecuted.

My goal in placing the library I created on MARAD’s website is to help historians understand that individuals like myself have been using and will continue to use our voices to help sexual harassment and sexual assault survivors. We’re each given a voice, and there is a choir of voices in 2024 singing for change.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

 

Samoa Grants USCG Expanded Enforcement Powers in its EEZ

A U.S. Coast Guard officer and a Samoan fishery enforcement agent inspect a fishing vessel in the Samoan EEZ, February 2024 (Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard)

PUBLISHED APR 7, 2024 9:09 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

U.S diplomacy in the South Pacific region has receive a major boost after Samoa expanded the powers of U.S Coast Guard (USCG) personnel within its exclusive economic zone. It is the latest in a series of agreements in the Pacific Islands that empower American officials to enforce partner nations’ maritime laws.

 On Friday, the government of Samoa and the U.S signed an update to their existing 2012 maritime law enforcement agreement, commonly known as the Shiprider Agreement.

The update grants the U.S Coast Guard an enhanced operational reach within Samoan waters, especially in dealing with illegal fishing activities. In this case, Samoa could request the U.S Coast Guard to inspect vessels and enforce its coastal state regulations without a Samoan officer (shiprider) present. However, the new agreement does not replace the joint patrols conducted with Samoan shipriders.

“In partnership with Samoa, the United States stands committed to safeguarding and ensuring security of Samoa’s exclusive economic zone. This is by preserving its marine resources and environment,” said Noriko Horiuchi, Charge d’Affaires, U.S Embassy Apia.

The new agreement comes days after the Coast Guard cutter Harriet Lane completed a three-months long deployment to the Pacific Island countries. During the inaugural patrol to the region, the 270- foot cutter visited pacific countries including Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

The vessel’s commander, Nicole Tesoniero, said the patrol carried out 28 vessel boardings under shiprider agreements with Pacific Island countries. In Vanuatu’s EEZ, Six Chinese fishing boats were allegedly found to be violating the country’s fisheries law, with the infringements including failing to record the fish caught in the log books. During the inspection, Vanuatu fishery department officers and the police were onboard the USCG cutter.

Other states which have allowed the USCG to board vessels within their waters include Micronesia, Papua New Guinea and Palau.

The USCG has said it will use medium endurance cutters like the Harriet Lane to increase its presence throughout the Indo-Pacific and Oceania. Such ships are especially suited for longer-range six to eight week joint patrols, taking pressure off shorter range Hawaii-based cutters, which are more suited to service closer to home port.

With vast EEZs and limited capacity for patrols, Pacific Island nations rely on help from Australia, New Zealand and the U.S to police their waters. But China has also expanded its diplomatic efforts in the region, sparking concerns of rising Chinese influence in the South and Central Pacific.  

 

South Korea’s Busan Port Launches First Automated Container Terminal

Courtesy Port of Busan

PUBLISHED APR 7, 2024 8:50 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

South Korea’s Busan New Port has further extended its capacity with the launch of a seventh container terminal. The terminal’s opening ceremony held on Friday was attended by President Yoon Suk Yeol, who lauded the facility as a milestone in turning Busan Port into a world-class smart port and hub for global logistics.

The new facility is the first fully automated terminal in the country featuring remotely controlled ship to shore cranes built in Korea. The automated transfer of cargo from ships is expected to raise the port’s productivity by up to 20 percent compared with other terminals and significantly lower the risk of safety-related incidents.

The Busan New Port opened back in 2006 as older terminals at the Busan Harbor were unable to handle the exponential growth in trade at the key transshipment port. The development was carried out in phases, and the new port expansion is scheduled to last up to around 2040-2050. According to Busan Port Authority, the overall expansion project will cost $32 billion when completed.

Last year, container traffic at the Port of Busan hit a record 22.75 million TEU, representing a 3.1 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, President Yoon pledged to extend the tonnage taxation system ahead of its expiration at the end of the year. The tonnage tax is applied to shipping companies instead of ordinary corporate taxation, meaning companies pay taxes based on the net tonnage of their fleet as opposed to their profits. (Critics of the tonnage tax system argue that it is discriminatory as it does not uphold tax equity.)

South Korea reviews the tonnage tax system after five years, and the president’s guarantee to maintain it signals the government’s commitment to revitalize the domestic shipping industry. In this regard, Yoon also pledged $4 billion in government funding for national shipping companies to expand their fleet and aid in their green transition.

 

The Dangerous Reality of China's Megaprojects in Pakistan

CPEC-built Kas-Pul Bridge, Battagram (IamAnisurrahman / CC BY SA 4.0)

PUBLISHED APR 7, 2024 2:45 PM BY THE LOWY INTERPRETER

 

 

[By Syed Fazl-e-Haider]

The killing of five Chinese engineers in a 26 March suicide attack in Pakistan’s northwest has renewed concerns about the safety and security of Chinese personnel and projects in the South Asian country. The attack – in which an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into a bus transporting staff from Islamabad to the Dasu dam project in Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province – sent a ripple of anxiety all the way to Beijing.

Yet despite China’s call for a “thorough investigation” into the incident, Islamabad and Beijing remain optimistic about the US$62 billion China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian reportedly said, “Our two countries are all-weather strategic cooperative partners. Our iron-clad friendship is deeply rooted in the two peoples. No attempt to sabotage China–Pakistan cooperation will ever succeed.”

However, the ministry’s statement did little to allay fears among Chinese nationals working on dam projects in Pakistan’s northwest. Chinese companies suspended civil works on both the Dasu and Diamer–Bhasha dam projects in the aftermath of the suicide attack. Almost a thousand Chinese engineers working on both projects have stopped work.

Just two days after the bombing, a Chinese company suspended civil works at the Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project and laid off more than 2,000 workers due to “security reasons”. In 2021, Pakistani authorities had awarded a US$355 million contract to Power Construction Corporation of China Ltd for civil works on the project. The 1,530MW Tarbela dam was scheduled to start power production before 2026. 

Hardly a week before the suicide attack, insurgents targeted Chinese interests in the country’s southwest by storming the Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) complex and Turbat naval base near China-run Gwadar Port, which is a key component of the CPEC, in southwestern Balochistan province. Security forces thwarted both attacks and killed the insurgents. The assaults were claimed by the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group fighting for an independent Balochistan against the state of Pakistan. Operationalised in 2017, Turbat naval base was built to provide a vital link for air transportation to support the CPEC.

“The audacious attacks on the GPA complex and Turbat naval base reflect the enhanced operational capacity of the BLA to storm the heavily guarded areas in Balochistan,” Jan Muhammed Baloch, a political analyst and researcher, told this author. “By attacking the GPA complex – the highly sensitive area in Pakistan’s Belt and Road hub of Gwadar – the group has sent a message of ‘vulnerability’ to China having ambitious plans for transport of Middle Eastern oil through Gwadar Port,” said Baloch.

The BLA, which has conducted numerous attacks on Chinese citizens in Pakistan, has demanded that China close down the CPEC and quit Balochistan. The group repeatedly warned Beijing against signing more CPEC deals with Islamabad.

Most insurgent attacks in Pakistan’s northwest and southwest are carried out by the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or Pakistani Taliban, along with the BLA in the southwest. In late 2022, Baloch separatist groups including the BLA and TTP declared that they had joined ranks against the state of Pakistan.

These three high-profile attacks on Chinese interests have dealt a severe blow to the myth of foolproof security for Chinese personnel and projects in Pakistan. The attacks further aggravate security concerns for Beijing, which is the largest foreign investor in the country. Pakistan blamed “foreign elements” for the terrorist attacks on Chinese citizens, which it says are aimed at harming the China–Pakistan relationship and damaging the CPEC.

Pakistan accuses its neighbours, Iran and Afghanistan, of harbouring the anti-Pakistan militant outfits. There is, however, a background to the recent attacks. On 18 March, Pakistan conducted air strikes inside Afghanistan to target the sanctuaries of the TTP. In January, Pakistan carried out air strikes inside Iran targeting the hideouts of the BLA and other Baloch rebel groups. The BLA vowed to avenge the killing of its members in the air strike, as did the Taliban. Pakistan has been under attack by both the TTP and BLA since.

Meanwhile, the CPEC has been proceeding at snail’s pace, not just due to security threats. A combination of political instability, local stakeholder issues, the Covid-19 pandemic, and technical challenges have contributed to the low implementation rate of China’s megaprojects in Southeast Asia. CPEC projects face similar issues, but security is the number one challenge in Pakistan. Unlike Southeast Asian countries, Pakistan has been reeling from separatist insurgency and Islamist militancy for two decades.

Syed Fazl-e-Haider is a contributing analyst at the South Asia desk of Wikistrat. He is a freelance columnist and the author of several books, including The Economic Development of Balochistan.

This article appears courtesy of The Lowy Interpreter and may be found in its original form here. 

Top image: CPEC-built Kas-Pul Bridge, Battagram (IamAnisurrahman / CC BY SA 4.0)

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

 

Something Is Starting to Smell Fishy About the Global Seafood Supply Chain

Boarding team inspects the holds of a fishing-fleet tender vessel off the Galapagos Islands (USCG file image)

PUBLISHED APR 7, 2024 7:06 PM BY IAN URBINA

 

 

The past half year has seen a steady stream of disturbing reports about serious human rights abuses tied to industrial fishing. First came a long expose about forced labor at sea tied to hundreds of Chinese fishing ships that supply many of the biggest restaurant and grocery store chains in the US and Europe. Then the investigations moved on land, exposing the widespread use by Chinese processing plants of state-sponsored forced labor — specifically North Korean and Uyghur workers, both of which are strictly banned from being tied to any products imported into the US. 

Then last week this harsh spotlight shifted to India. A whistleblower, named Joshua Farinella, leaked thousands of pages of internal documents, invoices, emails, recorded zoom calls, security footage, whats app exchanges tied to a shrimp processing plant where he was the manager. The story was important for Americans since a third of the shrimp they eat comes from India. The documents seem to back up the whistleblower’s statements and raise a variety of serious concerns about human rights abuses tied to workers at the Indian plant as well as food safety issues relating to shrimp possibly having been shipped to the US that tested positive for antibiotics. 

The whistleblower is an American and a longtime seafood industry executive, and he showed unusual bravery in leaking the documents since he likely just threw his entire career away in doing so. Aside from talking to reporters, he followed other proper channels, by filing federal whistleblower complaints to law enforcement officials at the State Department, Customs and Border Patrol, the Labor Department and the FDA, who have already spoken with him and begun investigating. 

Congress last week also formally wrote the whistleblower to request the documents as they too intend to investigate the plant. That is often a precursor to hearings. For the risks taken and bravery shown in leaking the documents, podcasters have dubbed the whistleblower, the “Snowden of Seafood”, and he has also been hailed publicly as a “superhero” by a variety of advocates and others, including the Hulk. (The actor Mark Ruffalo posted a message saying the whistleblower was a real-life superhero for his actions). The company at the center of the disclosures takes a different view and has categorically denied that it did anything illegal or unethical. 

The story about conditions at the shrimp plant in India come against a broader backdrop. The same week that the whistleblower documents were published, the Corporate Accountability Lab, which is an advocacy group of lawyers and researchers, released a report detailing severe cases of captive and forced labor as well as environmental concerns often tied to wastewater at a variety of other shrimp plants in India.

It’s worth remembering the history here. Labor abuse tied to seafood is not a new problem. The New York Times and the Associated Press covered the issue extensively a decade ago, especially tied to Thailand. Even before that, a human rights NGO called the Environmental Justice Foundation revealed in 2013 widespread problems with forced and child labor in Thai shrimp. The EJF report and subsequent news coverage spurred a series of sweeping reforms by the Thai government to better protect workers from such abuses. But these reforms came with a price, leading to escalating labor costs in Thailand right when nearly half of the country’s shrimp production was wiped out by a disease. India emerged to fill the void, with help from its government which bolstered subsidies and loosened laws restricting foreign investment. By 2021, India was exporting more than $5 billion of shrimp globally, and was responsible for nearly a quarter of the world’s shrimp exports.

And yet, here we are again: the seafood problems previously highlighted in Thailand are now being widely revealed in China and India.

Part of the problem with global seafood is that companies and governments barely know where these ships are working, much less how they are behaving. A new study published in the journal Nature in January 2024 revealed that 75 percent of the world’s industrial fishing fleet are not publicly tracked. The study, using machine learning and satellite imagery, detected vessel activity at sea that was previously “dark” in marine protected areas and in countries' waters that previously showed significantly less of a fishing footprint. If we dont know where the ships are, we surely dont know if the workers on them are trafficked. 

Even on land, companies and governments are minimally informed about what is happening at the fish farms and processing plants partly because the audits that are meant to verify ethical and legal conditions tied to worker treatment, food safety, and ocean sustainability are deeply flawed. 

Labor researchers, unions, academics and industry consultants have warned that these concerns will keep popping up until major buyers — in particular the restaurant and supermarket companies — decide to fix their supply chains so that they know what is happening at every step along the way, from bait to plate. These experts also say companies need to stop relying on auditing firms that claim to be checking for things in places (like India and China) where they actually have limited capacity to do so effectively. 

Until then, the rotten smell inside this industry is likely going to get worse.  

Ian Urbina is the director of The Outlaw Ocean Project, a non-profit journalism organization based in Washington DC that focuses on environmental and human rights concerns at sea globally.

This essay originally appeared in Time and may be found in its original form here. 

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

 

Contractors Remove 150-Tonne Section of Baltimore's Key Bridge

Courtesy USACE

PUBLISHED APR 7, 2024 3:32 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

On Saturday, contractors for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the removal of a 156-tonne piece of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, bringing the response one step closer to completion. The bridge's one-piece truss collapsed after the boxship Dali hit a pier on March 26, killing six and prompting a multi-month effort to reopen the shipping channel. 

The section removed Saturday was from Span 19, outside of the main channel. Contractors hoisted it onto a barge for later dismantling; the scrapping work will take place at the nearby Tradepoint Atlantic terminal. 

Salvor inspects the wreckage aboard the boxship Dali (USACE)

Image courtesy USACE

Divers recovered a third body from the wreckage on Friday, bringing the number of missing to three individuals. The victim has been identified as Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, 38, a member of the pothole-repair crew that was working on the bridge deck when the ship hit the pier. 

Suazo-Sandoval's body was recovered from inside a vehicle in the wreckage. The diver did not find any other bodies within or near the vehicle, Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Roland Butler Jr. told local media. 

On Sunday, Maryland Governor Wes Moore confirmed the most specific timeline yet for the full resumption of shipping in and out of the Port of Baltimore: the end of May. 

“It is an aggressive timeline but we are going to work around the clock to make sure we hit this timeline,” he told CBS News. 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a similar forecast last week, predicting that a 35-foot channel would be open by the end of April and that the fairway would be fully restored by end of May. 

Rebuilding the Key Bridge will take far longer, and will be far more costly. The White House has asked Congress to fully fund a replacement right away, while state and federal governments will look at legal options for recouping costs later (from the shipowner or the operator). 

 

 

X-Press Feeders Gears Up for Methanol-Powered Service in Europe

Two of X-Press Feeders' new green-methanol-powered boxships, in green livery (X-Press Feeders)

PUBLISHED APR 7, 2024 9:46 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Plans by Singapore-based X-Press Feeders to launch green shipping corridors in Northern Europe are on schedule to commence in the third quarter of this year following the inking of a landmark agreement with six ports.

The liner announced readiness to begin the use of dual-fuel vessels powered by green methanol on the Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea routes after signing of memorandum of understanding with the ports of Antwerp Bruges (Belgium), Tallinn (Estonia), Helsinki (Finland), HaminaKotka (Finland), Freeport of Riga (Latvia) and Klaipeda Port (Lithuania).

X-Press Feeders is now on schedule to begin the operation of methanol powered vessels on two shipping routes connecting the six ports. The liner says that the development is significant because the services will be the very first scheduled feeder routes in Europe powered by green methanol, an alternative fuel that produces at least 60 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuel oil. 

The company, which operates a fleet of more than 100 vessels, has 14 dual-fuel feeder vessels on order that will be delivered starting this year through to mid-2026. Each of the ships has a capacity of 1,200 TEU. The first vessel is preparing to make its maiden voyage from Shanghai’s builder Sumec Yangzhou New Dayang Shipbuilding Company to Rotterdam.

The ship will use bio-methanol, a renewable energy source produced from decomposing waste and residues, for her voyage to Europe.  X-Press Feeders has already signed a contract with Dutch fuel supplier OCI Global for the supply of green methanol at the port of Rotterdam. X-Press Feeders says that the vessels will save about 270 kilograms of CO2e emissions for every TEU carried when compared to a conventionally-fueled ship. 

“By working together – X-Press Feeders and the six partner ports – aim to efficiently implement green shipping corridors and lead the maritime industry in sustainability. We chose the Nordic and Baltic states as the first markets to deploy our green methanol powered vessels because we found the ports and our customers in these markets to be very receptive,” said Francis Goh, X-Press Feeders’ Chief Operating Officer.

The MoU covers joint development of infrastructure for green methanol bunkering and cooperative measures for supporting the green methanol supply chain. Other collaborations will include training programs for port workers and seafarers on handling methanol, as well as using digital platforms to speed up port calls. 

For green methanol and other sustainable fuels to meet the needs of the global maritime industry, production needs to scale up. However, X-Press Feeders thinks that the amount of bio-methanol available is enough to run ‘closed loop’ services in Northern Europe. This means about 95 percent of the entire round voyage can be powered by methanol, with a resupply of fuel at the bunkering port after every voyage. Over the long haul, X-Press Feeders wants to fully decarbonize by 2050.  

'Plan for the worst': Eclipse viewings expected to put pressure on cellphone networks

Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press    Apr 5, 2024

An annular solar eclipse rises over construction cranes and the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, June 10, 2021 THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

With Monday's solar eclipse expected to draw tens of thousands to regions along the path of totality in Eastern Canada, major cellphone and internet providers say they're ready to handle a surge in wireless traffic in those areas.

Cities such as Niagara Falls, Ont., and Montreal have been bracing for an influx of tourists this weekend as people hope to catch a glimpse - through their special protective glasses - of the phenomenon Monday afternoon. The rare alignment of the sun, Earth and moon means other cities and towns in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces could also see unusually high visitor levels.

“As with any large event that brings high levels of visitation into a concentrated area, it is possible that cell signal may be compromised,” the City of Niagara Falls said in a post on its website.

The city said it is expecting up to one million visitors over the coming days which would be “by far, the largest crowd we've ever experienced.” In the post, it warned local businesses that visitors may have urgent requests to use their landline phones if cell service becomes spotty.

But Canada's largest telecommunications carriers say they have been preparing for the eclipse and are confident their networks will hold up.

Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. said they would deploy additional infrastructure to certain areas to prevent any potential disruptions. For Rogers and Bell, that includes using portable mobile towers, known as Cell on Wheels, or COWs, to increase capacity.

The companies also said their technical teams would pause routine maintenance work that could potentially reduce service levels.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment for many Canadians and we are getting ready to handle the potential increase in wireless traffic in communities along the path of totality,” said Rogers spokesman Cam Gordon in a statement.

“We have also conducted network health checks, completed targeted upgrades and are optimizing sites to add more capacity.”

Bell spokeswoman Jacqueline Michelis said a dedicated team would monitor network performance throughout Monday.

“In preparation for the solar eclipse, our teams are putting measures in place to ensure the network continues to run optimally in regions where we anticipate large crowds to gather,” she said in a statement.

Enhancing network capacity by deploying portable cell sites is one of the most effective ways that telecom companies can prepare for increased demand, said Manav Gupta, chief technology officer and Canada technical sales team lead at IBM Canada.

He said Cell on Wheels “can quickly provide additional coverage and capacity where needed.”

“Providers will want to prepare for a network traffic surge resulting from people using telecommunications services more heavily during the event by, for example, streaming the eclipse, sharing content on social media or making calls,” said Gupta.

Unlike its two largest competitors, Telus doesn't need to deploy Cell on Wheels, said spokeswoman Jacinthe Beaulieu. She said Telus has made “massive investments in our network” in recent years that will allow it to offer increased capacity on Monday.

“Our infrastructure can support the increased number of visitors that is expected during the eclipse,” she said.

Beaulieu said Telus held internal preparedness calls and was in touch with public safety and government officials leading up to the eclipse. It has a “contingency and emergency response process” ready in case there are issues Monday.

Quebecor Inc. said in a statement that the “strength and robustness of our network should ensure continuity of wireless service” on eclipse day for all Videotron, Freedom Mobile and Fizz subscribers. But it added it would monitor the situation before and during the eclipse and “intervene quickly if necessary.”

“Please keep in mind that the eclipse itself has no effect on telecom networks, unlike a solar flare which can affect airwaves and electronic equipment,” the company said in an unattributed statement.

“It should also be noted that the total eclipse route will distribute potential viewing sites over a relatively large area, reducing the risk of network congestion. However, temporary slowdowns remain possible if larger-than-expected crowds materialize at certain locations.”

The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake said those in the area should “consider developing a communication plan with family and friends ahead of time, and ensure your phone is fully charged for the day of the eclipse.”

“If you regularly use cash or want some on hand, consider visiting your local bank or ATM beforehand,” the town noted on its website. “Due to increased cellular traffic, some ATMs that operate on Wi-Fi may be unavailable.”

Although phone signals and internet connections are not directly affected by solar eclipses, which do not emit radiation or energies that disrupt electromagnetic waves, Gupta said they could cause “minor disruptions” to satellite communications. This could potentially affect signals related to GPS and, to a lesser extent, cellular networks due to atmospheric change.

“My advice would be, as with any noteworthy events, to proactively plan for the worst,” said Gupta.

“Gathering data, developing a strategy, and preparing for any potential issues is sound practice no matter what the challenge or issue may be.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2024.

BNN Bloomberg is part of Bell Media, which is owned by BCE

Coinbase becomes first foreign crypto exchange to be registered in Canada

Ben Cousins, BNN Bloomberg   APR 4, 2024

Coinbase announced it is the first international cryptocurrency exchange to be registered as a Restricted Dealer by the Canadian Securities Administrators.

Coinbase called the news a “culmination of months of work” since expanding into Canada in March 2023 and marks Coinbase’s seventh international registration in the last year, behind France, Spain, Singapore, Italy, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

“This is a significant milestone in Coinbase’s journey in Canada,” Lucas Matheson, CEO of Coinbase Canada, said in a news release Thursday. “We’re excited to continue working with stakeholders across Canada to accelerate the adoption of digital assets, foster economic empowerment, and reshape the financial system.”

Coinbase has marked Canada as the third-most crypto-aware nation, with internal surveys showing that 29 per cent of Canadians would be interested in investing if there were more regulation in the industry.

“Regulation is critical to the success of the crypto industry and is essential for building trust,” Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer at Coinbase, said in the release. “We applaud the Canadian securities regulators’ demonstrated commitment to bring clarity to the industry and are excited for what this next chapter holds for Coinbase in Canada.”

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has been complimentary of the Canadian regulatory framework in past, saying that Canadian regulators have shown “great leadership” during a town hall event in Toronto back in November.

“Canada can rightfully lord that over the U.S. that they are doing a better job creating regulatory clarity around crypto,” Armstrong said at the time.

“I'll take some pointers home from this trip for our U.S. counterparts.”

Coinbase’s Toronto office is its largest tech hub outside the U.S., with more than 200 full-time employees.

The announcement comes at a time of turmoil at Canada’s largest crypto exchange, WonderFi, which last week saw a major investor call for a C-suite shakeup after its stock fell 16 per cent in the past four months, but the price of Bitcoin climbed 60 per cent.