It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Monday, November 04, 2024
Hydrofoiling Electric Ferry Enters Service in Stockholm
Last week, Swedish startup Candela announced that its hydrofoil electric ferry Nova has begun operations. The 30-passenger, 40-foot ferry departed from its dock in the quiet suburb of Tappström in the early morning hours of October 29, powered by electric motors.
Flying silently a meter above the water’s surface, Nova completed the 15-kilometer route to Stockholm’s City Hall in 30 minutes, half the normal time that conventional ferries use to cover the distance.
Owing to its hydrofoil technology, Nova is not only the fastest electric ferry in the world (says Candela) but also the fastest in Stockholm’s public transport fleet, cruising at 25 knots and outpacing the diesel-powered V-class ferries that previously held the local speed record.
Candela says that Nova is the first of its new P-12 model to enter service, and the company says that its capabilities put it in a new class when compared to conventional vessels. The ferry’s computer-controlled hydrofoil wings lift the hull above water, reducing energy consumption by 80 percent by cutting water friction. It creates a minimal wake, even at top speed, so it can operate faster in the harbor while staying compliant with wake regulations.
Candela, one of a growing number of hydrofoiling electric ferry startups, says that Nova requires no costly dock infrastructure. With a DC charging station, the vessel can recharge in less than an hour.
“This is a paradigm shift for urban transport and a revival of our waterways,” said Gustav Hasselskog, Candela founder and CEO. “For the first time, there is a vessel that makes waterborne transport faster, greener, and more affordable than land transport. It’s a renaissance for the world’s waterways.”
Candela says that it has secured orders from Saudi Arabia, New Zealand and Berlin so far.
HD Hyundai Begins Autonomous Demonstration with Larger Containership
HD Hyundai launched autonomous and collision avoidance demonstrations using an 8,000 TEU containership (HD Hyundai)
South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries today started a demonstration of autonomous operations of a large containership with the systems specifically designed into the vessel. It is part of a government-sponsored program being overseen by Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, designed to advance and commercialize autonomous shipping.
The 8,000 TEU containership was built at the Ulsan yard with HD Hyundai’s autonomous navigation system. The ministries selected the project as part of a series of 44 programs that were given a special exemption from current regulations. According to the shipbuilder, this permits them to proceed with the demonstrations which will lead to the development of international standards for autonomous shipping.
During the tests, which began on Monday, November 4, they will demonstrate autonomous collision avoidance operating in the waters off Ulsan, South Korea. The ship will also be remotely controlled for the speed and direction during the demonstration which operations from the HD Hyundai GRC located in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
The company highlights that it is difficult to test ships for autonomous navigation systems because there currently is no legal basis for land-based mariners to control ships under remote control. The “regulatory sandbox” program launched by the South Korean ministries is letting companies work around the current regulations for demonstrations and gather data to advance the development of the technology.
This is the latest in a series of tests in cooperation with South Korean shipping company POS Ocean and PAN Shipping along with HD Hyundai’s Avikus division which was set up for the commercialization of autonomous technologies. The group has already demonstrated systems on smaller boats and is launching products for recreational boating while expanding its efforts to large commercial ships.
In April 2024, POS Singapore (22,800 dwt), which was ordered in 2022 and built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan, was launched as the first containership with the autonomous technology integrated into a newbuild. The vessel, which measures 576 feet (172 meters) in length and is registered in Liberia with a capacity of 1,800 TEU, completed the installation of the systems in September to begin testing.
Last month, the same partnership launched tests with the Sea Shanghai, a 324,272 dwt ore carrier built in 2020 and managed by POS Ocean. Pan Ocean reported they jointly conducted test operations for the stable application of the autonomous navigation system and successfully conducted various tests during the sea trial period, including route planning, route tracking, speed tracking, collision avoidance, and safety function inspection of the product.
The autonomous navigation system is designed to operate the optimal route and avoid collisions by analyzing information collected from various navigation equipment and sensors using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR). According to the companies, it was developed to assist navigation, such as reducing navigation fatigue for deck officers, and is expected to contribute to carbon reduction through safe operation and improved fuel efficiency.
Based on the data accumulated through the offshore demonstrations, Hyundai Heavy Industries says it plans to lead the international standards for autonomous ships.
One Injured in Fire Aboard Dredger at Mayport, Florida
Coastguardsmen and first responders transfer the victim ashore at Mayport (Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department)
On Saturday, a fire broke out aboard a dredging vessel near Mayport, Florida, injuring one person and prompting a rapid medevac response.
At about 1530 hours on Saturday, Coast Guard Station Mayport received an alert that an engine room fire had occurred aboard the dredging vessel Stuyvesant. Small boat crews from Station Mayport responded to the scene, working together with the local fire department, county sheriff and harbor pilots' association.
The blaze was quickly extinguished, but one crewmember was seriously injured in the fire. A boat crew transported him to an awaiting EMS unit on shore, and the victim was delivered to a local hospital in critical condition, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department told local media. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Courtesy USCG
Stuyvesant is a 10,000 dwt trailing suction hopper dredger. Built at Avondale Shipyard in 1981-2, she is Jones Act qualified and owned by a firm in California.
Stuyvesant's inspection record shows that U.S. Coast Guard inspectors found fire safety issues aboard previously, and that they were corrected when identified. In March 2024, oil-soaked lagging was found on the exhaust leading to the turbocharger on the port main engine, and it was replaced to the inspector's satisfaction. The vessel's PSIX record shows that the same issue was observed and corrected in May 2023.
Tanker Collision Spills Paraffin Off Algeciras
AIS data from Louisa Bolten (orange) and Southern Puma (not reported) on the day of the casualty (Pole Star)
After a collision between a bulker and a chemical tanker near the Strait of Gibraltar on Friday, white balls of solid paraffin wax have been floating ashore near the port of Algeciras, Spain. The substance appears to be connected to the cargo released by the tanker Southern Puma, which was struck by a bulker, spilling about 500 cubic meters of paraffin into the water.
On Friday morning, the bulker Louisa Bolten was transiting eastbound through the Strait of Gibraltar. At a position northeast of Ceuta, she collided with the chemical tanker Southern Puma, which - according to electronic records - appeared to be operating with its AIS transmitter turned off. The tanker's AIS signal was last received by Pole Star on October 25, when the vessel was transiting the English Channel.
No injuries were reported, but Southern Puma sustained considerable damage on the starboard side, with the bow-shaped indentation indicative of a T-bone collision. The impact damaged at least one of Southern Puma's cargo tanks, spilling liquid paraffin into the sea.
Paraffin is biodegradable, and it rapidly solidifies at ambient temperatures, so the environmental harm is expected to be minimal. No bunker fuel releases have been reported. As a precautionary measure, Spanish environmental group Verdemar Ecologistas en Accion called for the authorities to closely monitor the spill and to watch for any signs of ecological impact.
Escorted by four tugboats, Southern Puma arrived at the Port of Algeciras on Saturday to tie up at a safe berth and await a shipyard availability for repairs. The tanker will need to offload the rest of its cargo to another specialized chemical tanker before it can go into drydock, and it will be inspected by class before further movements. Local authorities say that there is no further environmental risk from the vessel, though a boom has been deployed around it as a precautionary measure.
As of Sunday, Louisa Bolten was still under way in the Mediterranean, headed eastbound for Aliaga, Turkey.
Houthi Forces Threaten to Target Ex-Israeli Ships, Even After Resale
In a statement Sunday, Yemen's Houthi rebel group pledged to target ships formerly owned by Israeli companies, even after the vessels are resold and no longer have a tangible link to Israel. The announcement appears to broaden the list of available targets that the group can choose from amongst the passing traffic.
The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks on civilian shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since last fall. The group claims that it targets vessel linked to Israel and its Western allies, but in practice, the terrorist group has repeatedly attacked ships that have no clear connection to Israeli shipping interests or cargo movements. The vast majority of container ship traffic has rerouted away from the Red Sea, along with a lesser but still substantial percentage of tanker and bulker traffic.
In a statement Sunday, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said that the group believes Israeli shipping interests are taking steps to hide their ships' true ownership in order to evade the "punitive measures" that Houthi forces have imposed in the Red Sea. These claimed evasive efforts include selling vessels or re-registering them under the names of third parties, Saree said.
"The Yemeni Armed Forces will not take into consideration any change in ownership or flags of the ships of the Israeli enemy, and warns all concerned parties dealing with these companies or ships are subject to punishment," Saree warned. "This blockade will continue until . . . the siege on the Gaza Strip is lifted and the aggression on Lebanon stops."
Houthi forces have repeatedly targeted vessels that were once connected to Israeli interests but have since changed hands. Maritime security analysts have long speculated that the group could be using outdated database information for targeting purposes.
The last ship targeted by a Houthi strike was a Greek-owned bulker, the Motaro, which had no recent record of Israeli port calls or connections to Israeli business interests. Saree confirmed the targeting of the Motaro, and said that it was picked because the shipping company - not the ship itself - had allegedly continued to operate vessels to and from Israeli seaports. Motaro's operator has three bulkers under management, and AIS records show no signs that any of them have called in Israel in the last three years.
Report: Houthis Are Earning $2 Billion a Year by Shaking Down Shipowners
A new report from the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen suggests that the Houthi group is extracting safe transit fees from owners - or else (EUNAVFOR image)
An as-yet-unreleased UN report suggests that Yemen's Houthi rebels have figured out a way to monetize their blockade of the Red Sea: insiders report that the group is operating a multi-billion-dollar tolling operation on the strategic waterway, extracting covert payments from shipowners in exchange for the right to pass safely. If accurate, the safe passage tolls may be among the group's largest sources of income, and would give the Houthis a significant financial incentive to continue attacks on shipping - regardless of the group's ideological motives.
In a long-running research project on the conflict in Yemen, a panel of experts compiled a 500-plus page report for the UN Security Council on Houthi capabilities, finances and alliances. The findings depict an organization that has grown rapidly, both at home and in its near abroad. The Houthi militia has developed a sophisticated international network for shipping, money laundering, smuggling, recruitment and piracy, earning revenue at multiple touch points along the way.
The latest revenue opportunity is linked to the group's politically-motivated blockade of shipping on the Red Sea, enforced through prolific missile and drone attacks. The Houthis launched more than 130 strikes on merchant ships from last November through the end of July, the expert panel assessed. "The group’s shift to actions at sea increased their influence in the region," the panel wrote. "Such a scale of attacks, using weapon systems on civilian vessels, had never occurred since the Second World War."
Houthi leaders claim that their ballistic missile and drone attacks are targeted at ships linked to Israel and its allies. In practice, the group has repeatedly attacked a wide variety of vessels with no clear connection to Israel or the West. Some of the targeted ships have even been carrying cargoes for Houthi-supporting nations, including the group's primary sponsor, Iran.
While many analysts have put the scattered attack pattern down to faulty targeting, the UN panel's conversations with local shipbrokers suggest that Houthi forces also have a financial method for target selection. Shipowners can quietly pay the group a fee for a safe transit, implying that the shipowners who do not pay might have an unsafe transit.
"The sources estimate the Houthis’ earnings from these illegal safe-transit fees to be about $180 million per month," the panel reported, noting that it has not been able to verify the information independently.
If the report is accurate, the Houthis could be generating more revenue from safe-transit fees than they earn by taxing petroleum imports, one of their biggest sources of income. If Houthi leaders ever agreed to cease strikes on Red Sea shipping, the group would be giving up more than $2 billion a year in income, along with a substantial source of regional influence and leverage.
The report also provides extensive details on the Houthis' ties to terrorist organizations (Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab and Hezbollah) and pirate action groups in Somalia, as well as details of its well-known links to the Iranian military apparatus and its "Axis of Resistance."
"The scale, nature and extent of transfers of diverse military materiel and technology provided to the Houthis from external sources, including financial support and training of its combatants, is unprecedented," the panel concluded.
Egyptian Officials Cite “Severe Loss” at One Year Mark for Houthi Attacks
Egypt reports $6 billion impact after a year of Houthi attacks has diverted traffic from the Suez Canal (SCA file photo)
Egyptian officials quantified the severe level of economic damage to the country’s economy as the Houthis closed in on the first anniversary of the launch of their assaults on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Egypt emphasized the impact while it was meeting with the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization Arsenio Dominguez while reiterating its commitment to maintaining freedom of navigation in the vital seaway.
Dominguez was touring the Red Sea region and meeting with leaders in Djibouti, Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. They discussed the current situation while Dominguez said the trip was meant to also express support for freedom of navigation as well as concern for innocent seafarers.
Egypt cited the dramatic economic impact as transits of the Suez Canal have declined. After record levels and a strong outlook for canal operations, reports indicate that overall traffic is down between 60 and 70 percent in the Suez Canal. The vast majority of containerships and all cruise ships diverted while an increasing number of bulkers, tankers, and car carriers have also rerouted. This comes despite the U.S. and EU efforts to maintain navigation and suppress the attacks by the Houthi. The past few months have shown a significant decline in the number of missile and drone attacks and long gaps between staging attacks.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aati however reported that the loss of traffic has cost the Egyptian economy around $6 billion in the past year. He emphasized to the IMO leader the critical role the canal income plays to the country.
It is just short of a year since Houthi forces boarded the car carrier Galaxy Leader on November 19, 2023, and commandeered it into a port holding the crewmembers. Dominguez sought to call attention to the crew which remain captive despite outreach by the Philippines and others to have the crew released.
Egyptian officials also emphasized that they are committed to maintaining open transit. This came as there was an online uproar after an Israeli warship was spotted transiting the Suez Canal over the weekend.
They responded to the online reports citing the Constantinople Convention, which was signed in 1888, that established international expectations of free transit. The Suez Canal Authority noted that it provides that “the Suez Maritime Canal shall always be free and open, in time of war as in time of peace, to every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of nationality.” They said that the authority remains legally and morally bound to uphold the agreements.
The Houthis however marked the upcoming one-year mark with the leader of the rebel group saying that the total number of targeted ships reached 202, which they called “an important achievement in every sense of the word.” The group’s spokesperson vowed that they would continue the attacks and not distinguish between vessels that had been sold and companies that trade with Israel.
Last week, CEO of Maersk Vincent Clerc said that his company as well as the new Gemini Cooperation with Hapag-Lloyd expected the disruptions would continue well into 2025. The new alliance finalized its routing plans focused on the diversions around Africa. Other carriers however continue to selectively send vessels through the Red Sea and Suez Canal but are delayed waiting for naval escorts to enhance security.
More Woes for Tasmania's Ferries: Newbuild Goes Adrift in a Storm
The newly-built Spirit of Tasmania V pressed up against a tug on the opposite embankment (Courtesy RMC)
Just days after it emerged that the brand-new Spirit of Tasmania IV will be transferred to Scotland and laid up, sister ship Spirit of Tasmania V broke loose from its outfitting quay at the Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) shipyard due to high winds.
On Friday evening, severe "hurricane-force" winds tore the ferry off the dock and sent it drifting towards the opposite wharf. Luckily, the presence of a tug and two barges between the vessel and the quayside prevented serious damage to the hull. Reported weather conditions at Rauma at the time of the casualty included wind speeds of up to 65 knots.
Spirit of Tasmania operator TT-Line said in a statement that the ferry is floating, safe and secure with every action possible being taken to protect her. “A detailed assessment of any damage is just not possible at this stage, but it appears there has been no breach to the hull,” said Kym Sayers, Spirit of Tasmania acting CEO.
She added that there are three tugs currently alongside Spirit of Tasmania V, and as soon as wind conditions are suitable, the vessel will be returned and secured to the layup berth at RMC.
"The good news is that the vessel has not been transferred to Tasmanian ownership at this stage, so the risk remains with the Finnish boatbuilder," Tasmanian Minister for Transport Eric Abetz told local media.
RMC had earlier released a statement stating that nobody was injured in the incident and there were no known leaks or other environmental damage, a situation that was prevented by advance preparations for the storm the previous day. In anticipation of the heavy weather, the company had assembled an emergency team, called a tug to the scene and doubled up mooring lines.
When completed, the 212-meter car and passenger ferry will serve the ports of Geelong and Devonport on Australia’s Bass Strait, a route known for its challenging sea conditions. The ship was launched in July this year and is currently in outfitting. The ferry, which will have a capacity of 1,800 passengers and a lifespan of 25 years, is expected to be delivered in the last quarter of next year.
Sister ship Spirit of Tasmania IV was delivered in September, but unfortunately cannot begin operations because of multiyear delays in the construction of a dock in Devonport, Australia. The ferry will be transferred to Leith, Scotland where she will be laid up for at least two months to avoid the harsh Baltic winter in Finland. TT-Line said it is still assessing its options for the vessel, which could include the possibility of leasing to a third party.
When both ships finally enter service, they will replace two aging hulls, Spirit of Tasmania I and II. The two new ships will significantly increase the passenger, vehicle and freight capacity on the route.
As Civil War Rages, Sudan's Government Cancels $6B UAE Port Project
The military government of Sudan has canceled a $6 billion port deal with the United Arab Emirates over the UAE's alleged weapons transfers to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Sudanese militia that launched a brutal civil war in April 2023. An estimated 15-60,000 people have been killed and eight million displaced in the fighting to date, with no end in sight.
The RSF has its roots in the notorious Janjaweed, the Arab militia that drew charges from the International Criminal Court for ethnic cleansing in the Darfur region in the mid-2000s. The official Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF were allied for decades under longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir, and they worked jointly to restore a military dictatorship in 2021, ending a brief experiment in civilian rule that began in 2019.
In early 2023, SAF leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo had a falling out over ministerial appointments, largely on regional lines. Al-Burhan re-appointed prominent Islamists from the Nile region to the positions of power that they held under al-Bashir. Hemedti, who came from the country's rural southwest, feared that these appointments would weaken his influence and responded by going to war.
In more than a year of fighting, neither side has gained a firm upper hand, though the RSF made major gains in Khartoum and the country's west. As of October 2024, the SAF was on the offensive, retaking parts of Khartoum and Dinder. "It is not clear how far the army is able to advance but they are putting up a big fight," Suliman Baldo of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker told Al Jazeera.
Foreign powers have weighed in on both sides of the conflict, with some evidence of Iranian and Russian support for the SAF - including a landmark Russia-SAF deal to build a naval base on the Sudanese coast.
The UAE is widely believed to support the RSF with large quantities of arms, flown into neighboring nations and trucked across the border. The UAE denies providing any backing for the RSF, describing its intervention as a humanitarian aid operation, and in public it has called for mediated peace talks.
The economic motive for the UAE's alleged support, according to analysts, may be the Gulf nation's interest in securing its landholdings in Sudan's fertile Nile region. The UAE is overwhelmingly dependent on imported food, and has invested heavily in agricultural land in Sudan; the $6 billion transport network and seaport complex that it had planned with the SAF-led government would have supported exports of UAE-bound agricultural products.
That planned seaport, Abu Amama, sits well within SAF-controlled territory. On Sunday, SAF finance minister Gibril Ibrahim told local media in Port Sudan that the agreement was off, citing repeated reports of UAE arms deliveries to the RSF. "After what happened, we will not give the UAE a single centimeter on the Red Sea coast," Ibrahim told Sudan Tribune.
The agreement with the UAE was signed in 2022, the year before the RSF launched its attack, and it was the first major foreign investment announced under the brief SAF-RSF military regime. In addition to the greenfield port north of Port Sudan, the project would have included a 400,000-acre agricultural development in the Nile region, hundreds of miles of new roadways, a large free trade zone, and a reported 35 percent share of port profits for the Sudanese government. Sudanese dry bulk specialist Invictus Investment partnered with AD Ports Group on the proposal.
Sweden Cites “Defense Concerns” Blocking Plans for 13 Baltic Wind Farms
Sweden approved its first floating wind farm proposal while rejecting farms proposed for the Baltic (file photo)
The Swedish government announced that after reviewing all considerations including defense issues it would not proceed with permits for 13 proposed wind farms planned for the Baltic outside of Sweden’s territorial waters. The government said defense considerations had won out in the review while it also approved one offshore wind farm plan and emphasized that it still wants to develop wind and solar energy.
The government said during a press event on Monday in Stockholm that it had determined the projects could not be permitted because of the impact that they would have on defense. Pal Jonson, Defense Minister, said the Armed Forces had provided documentation that showed the wind farm would delay the country’s ability to react to incoming missiles and the activity of submarines.
Sweden increased its defense considerations after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the general heightened security anxieties in the Baltic region. It was highlighted that both Sweden and Finland joined NATO in response to safety concerns and increased tensions with Russia.
Map shows the locations in the Baltic rejected due to security concerns (Swedish government)
“In these current cases, however, the defense interest has weighted the most,” said Romina Pourmokhtari, Climate and Environment Minister.
Among the companies proposing the offshore projects were Sweden’s OX2, Germany’s RWE, and Norway’s Statkraft. The decision is also seen as a setback to Sweden’s midterm plans for electrification and sustainability. The country has called for doubling its electric power supply which could have largely been achieved with the 13 projects which would have had a combined capacity of 140 terawatt-hours. Experts also highlight that the Baltic is a primate location for wind farms due to its relatively shallow seabed and consistent wind speeds.
The Swedish government emphasized that the projects needed to be considered in the broader scope but that it remains committed to wind and solar energy. While rejecting the 13 projects based on location, they granted permission for the Poseidon project which would be on the western coast in the southern Skagerrak. It became the first floating wind project to gain approval with government officials saying it would put Sweden at the forefront of floating wind. Vattenfall has invested in developing the project.
“It opens the door to developing additional offshore wind farms at greater ocean depth than has been previously possible,” they said announcing the approval.
Poseidon would consist of up to 81 floating turbines standing at up to 340 meters (over 1,100 feet) and have a potential for 5.5 TWh per year. The permission calls for the wind farm to be completed within 10 years and to have a total 40-year lifespan. The minister said it could tentatively start construction by 2029 and possibly be completed by around 2031.
It requires further review and permissions including for underwater cabling and the interconnect to the main power grid. The developer will also have to incorporate considerations for commercial fishing as well as marine mammals, bats, and birds.
Poseidon is the third offshore wind project to gain approval from the current government. They noted that 10 additional proposals are currently being reviewed. In addition, they are directing the state authorities to update the rules and technical specifications for intermittent power generation, including wind and solar. They are calling for additional consideration on how these forms of power generation can be supplemented or designed to contribute to power needs. The report is due at the end of 2025.
Canadian West Coast Ports Set to Stop Work as Union Lockout Begins
Container and cargo operations will stop starting with the Monday afternoon shift (Vancouver file photo)
Employers at Canada’s West Coast cargo ports confirmed they will be proceeding with the lockout of union members from the International Longshore and Wharehouse Union Ship & Dock Foreman Local 514 starting on Monday afternoon, November 4. All container and general cargo operations will be coming to a halt although grain exports and cruise operations (which are out of season) are excluded from the current job action.
Union members reported to work for the morning shift on Monday while announcing they were starting a limited strike action. The approximately 700 foremen overseeing operations in ports including Canada’s largest port, Vancouver, and the third larger, Prince Rupert, said they would be refusing overtime assignments as part of the ongoing struggle to reach a new contract with the BC Maritime Employers Association. The previous contract expired on March 31, 2023.
The foremen were following a similar tactic taken by the Canadian East Coast longshore union which began rejecting overtime nearly a month ago at the Port of Montreal in its contract dispute. Montreal warned of disruptions but continued to operate, while the West Coast employers said the lockout would be a defensive action because the limited action was unpredictable and could easily escalate.
The West Coast union responded saying the employers were “grossly overreacting,” to the limited action. The union emphasized that members reported as normal for the morning shift at 0800 this morning.
BCMEA announced that it would begin the lockout at 1630 this afternoon as the afternoon shift was due to report. They said all activity across the province would be impacted while also saying that their “final offer” remained open to the union.
Shippers have reportedly been scrambling to deal with the anticipated disruptions. The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade reported that C$800 million (US$575 million) of trade flows through the West Coast ports and that the action would cause widespread disruptions. Reports are saying auto parts supplies were likely to be among the most impacted although clothing, footwear, chemicals, and lumber are all going to be impacted.
The current action is limited to the foreman but in 2023 the longshore workers went on strike for 13 days. Analysts commented that it took up to three months to recover from last year’s strike with containers delayed anywhere from 39 to 66 days.
Port of Vancouver has reported strong growth in 2024 with volumes up 14 percent to over 1.8 million TEU in the first six months of the year. Loaded imports were just under 1 million TEU in the first half of the year while over 410,000 export containers were also moved.
U.S. business leaders are also expressing concern because up to 20 percent of the volume is reported to be cross-border trade into the U.S. Some of the traffic is expected to divert into the U.S. ports.
Canada’s Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon had proposed a special mediation program after labor regulators ruled that the local had bargained in bad faith aware of the coming automation steps without putting forward proposals for over a year. MacKinnon said over the weekend that he was in touch with both sides and repeated that federal mediators were standing by to assist in new negotiations.
The West Coast action comes as negotiations are also reportedly stalled in Montreal for a new dockworker contract. The union extended the overtime strike to include a total stop at two container terminals which are reported to handle 40 percent of the port’s cargo volumes. The terminals have a contract to service MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company vessels.
Both unions are focused on life-work issues and manning and scheduling issues. While wage increases are part of the demands, automation and its impact on the workflow have emerged as the sticking point. In Vancouver, DP World moved ahead with new remotely controlled cranes which have become the focus of the labor dispute. The local had previously called for a strike focused on DP World. The local’s strike mandate was due to expire meaning it would have started a new membership vote.
