BC Shipping News - November 2012

INSIDE: THE REALITY OF POLAR SHIPPING

BC SHIPPING NEWS

Volume 2 Issue 9

www.bcshippingnews.com

November 2012

Commercial Marine News for Canada’s West Coast.

Vessel Procurement Patience and partnerships key to success of NSPS

Ports & Terminals

Good news for West Coast shippers: Two new ports likely

Industry Insight

Bud Streeter, Vice President and Marine Manager, Lloyd’s Register North America Inc.

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November 2012

Volume 2 Issue 9

On the cover: HMCS Algonquin Photo credit: MCpl Chris Ward, CFB Esquimalt Imaging Services; Below, left to right: HMCS Algonquin, HMCS Protecteur and HMCS St-Johns Photo credit: MCpl Michel Durand, Formation Imaging Services, Halifax

Cover Story - P.34

Contents

Vessel Procurement: Patience and partnerships key to success of NSPS

10 Industry insight Head of the class With an illustrious career to reflect on, Bud Streeter’s opinions on current issues affecting the marine industry are worth a read.

Plus, someone finally explains the operations of a class society.

30 Arctic shipping

The reality of polar shipping

Captain Duke Snider throws a splash of cold water on the perception that regular shipping routes through the Arctic are just around the corner.

Technology

52

Consilium workshop

Through a half-day workshop hosted by Startech Marine Services, we learn about the latest technologies on the market for fire and gas detection, emission monitoring and navigational equipment.

D E P A R T M E N T S

F E A T U R E S

Bud Streeter

6 18 20 22 24

News briefs / industry traffic

27

Search & rescue

Letters to the editor and news

History lesson

Ships of Wood, Men of Steel

Veteran profile

Captain Ieuan Lampshire-Jones

Cruise industry

Cruise trends for 2012

Ports & terminals

Good news for West Coast shippers: Two new ports likely Roberts Bank Lifeboat: From waterjets to Arneson drives

28

Ports & shipping

39 44

Maritime security

46

International shipping

49

Legal affairs

51

Events

Port Metro Vancouver hosts naming ceremony for Grieg Star Shipping Discontent at sea: Human smuggling

Book review

The History of the RCMP Marine Services Angeliki Frangou and the Navios Group For Port of Vancouver Vessel Registry services, please call Ottawa Short recaps of CFOA and MSC conferences November 2012 BC Shipping News 3

November 2012 Volume 2/Issue 9 Publisher McIvor Communications Inc. President & Editor Jane McIvor

Located at Vancouver Waterfront and Roberts Bank

www.flyingangel.ca Canadian K9 Detection, Security & Investigations Ltd. Explosives l Narcotics l Firearms

Contributing Writers Darryl Anderson Ray Dykes Lisa Glandt Syd Heal Captain Ieaun Lampshire-Jones Captain Duke Snider Donna Spalding K.Joseph Spears Bud Streeter Mark Tinmouth Advertising and Subscriptions Jane McIvor Phone: 604-893-8800 / Email: jane@bcshippingnews.com ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION Canada Two Years $69.95 Cdn*

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The opinions expressed by contributing writers are not necessarily those of the Publisher. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher.

EDITOR’S NOTE

There’s a message here

I

f you pay close attention, you’ll notice an underlying theme in this issue — that of partnerships, comradery and teamwork.

This being the November issue, we have now established a tradition with BC Shippping News to honour the men and women of the Royal Canadian Navy and those who serve our country. As a Canadian, I’m grateful for their sacrifice and thankful for their protection. To be effective in their duties, the three words noted above are critical and ever evident.

This issue extends that thanks to those who served along with the RCN in supporting roles — the Fishermen’s Reserve and the Merchant Navy to name just two. As seen in Lisa Glandt’s article on the Fishermen’s Reserve, the camradery that was forged during the Second World War lasted through to two reunions some 30 years later.

Fast forward to today’s NSPS project and the key word from both the Canadian Coast Guard and the Department of National Defence is that of “partnerships” — the recognition that to be successful, there must be relationships built both within government and industry that provide for a foundation strong enough to last throughout the project.

Joe Spears’ review of the book The History of the RCMP Marine Services,

demonstrates the support one group on the sea gives to another. Like the Canadian Coast Guard, who support numerous government departments and are essentially the face of Canada in many areas (most notably the Arctic), they put their service to the sea and their duty to provide safety to those on the water at the forefront. The short article on the Roberts Bank Lifeboat Station-Delta Society again provides that example of mariners watching out for each other.

...to be successful, there must be relationships built both within government and industry that provide for a foundation strong enough to last throughout the project.

When you read Darryl Anderson’s article on human smuggling, the theme of camradery is taken even further as he highlights the issue of a mariner’s obligation to assist a vessel in distress regardless of whether this serves to aid an illegal activity like smuggling.

And while not to diminish the recognition we give to veterans (check out the article on Captain Ieuan Lampshire-Jones) and those

currently serving in the forces, the threads of partnerships, camradery and teamwork are present throughout the entire shipping industry.

Take the demonstration of partnership between Port Metro Vancouver and Grieg Star Shipping, for example, as they joined together to celebrate the commissioning of the new vessel, the Star Lima. It was clearly evident that both organizations, plus companies like DP World who will service the vessel while in port, recognize that success depends on collaboration and teamwork.

Turn to Duke Snider’s article on polar shipping or the Industry Insight with Bud Streeter and again, their messages are consistent — the community of mariners must work together or fail.

While we started out on this issue with the intent of honouring the forces and their sacrifices that ensure our way of life is preserved, a valuable insight was learned along the way. The bond shared by seafarers — all seafarers regardless of their role at sea — rests on the knowledge that, given that unthinkable happens and you require assistance, if a seafarer is in sight, you can be assured that they will come to your rescue. To me, that says a lot about the character and integrity of this industry.

— Jane McIvor

Member of: International Sailor’s Society Canada

November 2012 BC Shipping News 5

INDUSTRY traffic Prince Rupert Container Terminal welcomes largest vessel to call since opening

National and Marine Fire Services acquired

by Troy Life & Fire Safety

he Port of Prince Rupert celebrated the arrival of the 350metre COSCO Guangzhou container ship in late September, the largest vessel yet to call on Fairview Terminal since operations began there nearly five years ago.

With a total capacity of 9,500 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) and a deadweight tonnage of 107,000 metric tonnes (the maximum weight the vessel can safely carry), the COSCO Guangzhou is significantly larger than previous large ships such as the 334metre, 8,500 TEU capacity COSCO Prince Rupert.

The Guangzhou arrived from Shanghai at 89 per cent capacity, and represents the largest vessel in COSCO’s Pacific Northwest service in

ational and Marine Fire Services Inc. has been acquired

by Troy Life & Fire Safety Ltd. and is now a subsidiary of the Troy organization.

National and Marine Fire Services Inc. is a full service fire protection company serving principally the marine fire and safety market. Having been in business since 1992, staff have more than 100 years combined experience with particular expertise in the unique field of marine fire protection.

This expertise and experience comes from working with merchant marine ship owners, ferry operators, tankers, Canadian Coast Guard and Naval fleets. National and Marine’s workforce of 13 is pleased to now be a part of the well-recognized team at Troy.

Troy Life & Fire Safety Ltd. is a private corporation established in 1979, employing 600 people and offering a comprehensive line-up of fire alarm and detection, fire suppression, security, communication and nurse call products. With 30 offices coast to coast, National and Marine’s knowledge of special hazards will be leveraged across all Troy branches and will add to the existing centre of excellence to draw upon. And Troy is well positioned to further expand National and Marine’s exposure across Canada in the marine market.

Thomas Bosch continues as Vice President and General Manager of National and Marine, reporting to Jim McCoubrey, President of Troy and National Marine. Richard Muller continues as the company’s National and Marine Sales Manager and Randy Brousseau as Marine Operations Manager.

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which vessels from Hong Kong, Ningbo and Shanghai call on in Prince Rupert.

During the Guangzhou’s visit, terminal operator Maher Terminals and ILWU Local 505 handled approximately 4,100 on-and-off container moves.

“The arrival of the COSCO Guangzhou is indeed a monumental event for the Port of Prince Rupert, and the fact that our terminal operator and local workforce is able to meet this milestone with a ‘business-as-usual’ approach truly speaks to our unprecedented progress over the last five years,” said Don Krusel, President and CEO of the Prince Rupert Port Authority. “The speed and reliability of our service is more evident than ever as we continue to prove Prince Rupert is a world-class transload facility with a world-class workforce.”

The COSCO Guangzhou in the Port of Prince Rupert.

6 BC Shipping News November 2012

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NEWS BRIEFS ClassNK earns top honours for contribution to safety, hits milestone for ships registered

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orld-leading classification society ClassNK was awarded the Safety Award for its efforts to ensure the safe carriage of nickel ore cargoes at the Lloyd’s List Global Awards in late September. The Lloyd’s List Global Awards, held each year in London, recognize companies and individuals from around the world for their contributions to the growth and development of the global maritime industry.

This year’s distinguished panel of 10 independent judges selected ClassNK for the Safety Award for the Society’s efforts to improve the safety of maritime nickel ore transportation. Nickel ore has been called the “world’s deadliest cargo”, and was directly linked to the loss of four vessels and the deaths of 66 sailors in 2010-2011. While cargo issues traditionally fall outside of the scope of ship classification, ClassNK, which classifies more than one-third of the world’s bulk carrier fleet, began carrying out intensive research on the characteristics of nickel ore in order to prevent such casualties in the future.

The results of this research were compiled in ClassNK’s new Guidelines for the Safe Carriage of Nickel Ore, and released free of charge to the maritime industry. The guidelines include not only operational best practices to ensure the safety of vessels during the loading and transportation of nickel ore, but also the world’s first structural and stability requirements for existing vessels, as well as for constructing new vessels to safely transport this cargo which may liquefy. These new standards are already being used by shipyards to design a newer generation of bulk carriers and have earned the recognition of both flag states and industry groups such as INTERCARGO. ClassNK Chairman and President Noboru Ueda accepted the award on behalf of the class society and emphasized the award’s importance by saying: “Nickel ore and other cargoes that may liquefy in transport represent a potentially grave threat to vessels and their crews. Addressing the technical and other operational challenges posed by these cargoes is not easy, but it is

essential to ensuring a safer future for our industry. With our new guidelines we have made a great step forward in this fight and we are honoured to be recognized for our efforts by the maritime industry.”

Over 8,000 ships registered ClassNK (Chairman and President: Noboru Ueda) has announced that its register surpassed the 8,000 ship milestone, totalling 8,036 ships of 206,927,557 gross tons as of the end of August 2012.

The Society’s register topped 6,000 ships in 1989 and reached 7,000 in 2008. With the total number of registered ships topping 8,000 vessels this August, more than 1,000 ships have been added to the ClassNK Register in just the past four years alone.

According to IHS Fairplay data, ClassNK is not only the leading classification society for bulk carriers with nearly three times as many bulk carriers on its register as the next IACS member society, but is also the leading class society in IACS for tankers and second for container carriers in terms of ship numbers.

ClassNK Chairman and President Noboru Ueda.

In addition to newly built vessels, the large number of vessels transferred from other classification societies has propelled ClassNK’s rapid growth in recent years, and ClassNK remains dedicated to continual improvement of its services to maintain the strong support and trust it has earned from the maritime industry.

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November 2012 BC Shipping News 7

INDUSTRY TRAFFIC New build contract signed for local B.C. shipyard

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ith contract negotiations now complete and a signed contract, Marine Harvest Canada Ltd. and Bracewell Marine Group Ltd. will be working together to build a 13.4 by seven metre working vessel. This vessel will be comprised of a steel catamaran structure with an aluminum superstructure. When completed, this multi-purpose vessel will be used both to transport supplies and materials to Marine Harvest’s various fish farm locations on the West Coast of British Columbia as well as performing maintenance at their sites.

This project, which has a completion time of 10 months, will be built at Bracewell Marine Group’s facilities at Shelter Island Marina in Richmond, B.C. The design comes from the offices of Wartsila Ship Design of Fitjar, Norway.

The design is based on several vessels built for Marine Harvest’s European operations and is designed to exceed the requirements of the Nordic Boat Standard in Europe. This is a “Day Boat” design with no accommodations on board and, as such, will be built and inspected to the requirements of the Canada Shipping Act 2001 and will

Left to right: Tim Bell, Bracewell Marine Group; Darren Ingersoll, Marine Harvest Canada; Bob Mitchell, Bracewell Marine Group. ultimately be certified as a Near Coastal II, Limited Home Trade III vessel.

In an effort to engage and promote the local marine economy in B.C., Marine Harvest Canada chose to work with the Bracewell Marine Group for this project. Where possible, all construction materials will be sourced locally in B.C. The Bracewell Marine Group has contracted Kate Armstrong, N.A.,

DP World’s short sea shipping barge service goes bi-weekly

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P World Vancouver and DP World Nanaimo continue to operate the newly commenced short sea shipping barge operation, providing service between Vancouver Island and Vancouver. DP World is pleased to announce, due to market demand, they will be implementing a new bi-weekly service.

This new service started in mid-October with the barge working in Vancouver on Mondays and Thursdays and working in Nanaimo on Tuesday and Fridays.

This new service provides a more time-effective schedule, reducing the time from booking cargo to vessel by approximately 10 days, depending on which vessel is booked.

The service is still limited to cargo being served by shipping lines calling Centerm but will be extended to other terminals in the near future.

8 BC Shipping News November 2012

of Swiftsure Marine Services to help with interpretation of the regulations and as a communication liaison with Transport Canada.

The main engine and auxiliary power is supplied by Frontier Power & Equipment and consists of a pair of 6081AFM75 John Deere engines at 330 HP each, and an 11 kW Kubota Generator. Transmissions were supplied by Mill Log Wilson and are a pair of MG 5060 SCs. Electrical equipment and installation will be supplied by Comar Electric of Port Coquitlam, B.C. Hydraulic systems and equipment will be supplied

by Keypower Equipment of Surrey, B.C. Windows, doors and hatches will be supplied by the AMT Group (Diamond Sea Glaze).

With the invaluable guidance of the Marine Harvest Canada team of Darren Ingersoll, Production Manager, Port Hardy; Gary Knowles, Purchasing Manager; and Kate Armstrong of Swiftwure Marine Services, this project has come to fruition. Following the lengthy process of building a team in B.C. and working with the design team in Norway, the team is now awaiting the approval of the design from the Technical Services Branch of Transport Canada.

Local marine industry leaders recognized

K

Photo credit: BC Shipping News.

aity Arsoniadis-Stein, President and Secretary-General, International Ship-Owners Alliance of Canada Inc. and Kyle Washington, Executive Chairman, Seaspan Marine Corp. were awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of their significant contributions and achievements.

The award, presented by Senator Gerry St. Germain at the Capilano Golf and Country Club, marks the 2012 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada.

Recieving the award with Kaity and Kyle were Bruce Allen, Peter Kains and Colin Metcalfe.

On behalf of BC Shipping News, congratulations Kaity and Kyle. Well done!

Kaity Arsoniadis-Stein and Kyle Washington November 2012 BC Shipping News 9

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Head of the class Bud Streeter, Vice President and Marine Manager, Lloyd’s Register North America Inc.

B

ud Streeter has had an illustrious career to say the least but to hear him describe it, it’s been just good luck. For those who know him — and he is very well known in every region in Canada — it’s more likely that Bud’s rise through the ranks of, first Transport Canada, and then Lloyd’s Register, is much more due to his expertise and knowledge of Canada’s marine industry. With modesty aside, Bud’s insight into the issues that currently occupy the industry’s attention is worth a read.

BCSN: I think it would be helpful to start by describing your own experience in the marine industry and how that has led to your current leadership role?

Bud: I have two roles. First, I’m the Marine Manager for Lloyd’s Register North America’s services in Canada. I also have a ‘weekend job’ as President of Martec Ltd., our engineering research and consulting firm here in Halifax. We have 40 very talented people working on issues like ship structures, risk assessment and risk management. There are a number of projects that fit the marine and naval mandate primarily for Canadian clients but others as well.

I started as a cadet at the Canadian Coast Guard College and then sailed on

10 BC Shipping News November 2012

the West Coast and then the East Coast and a bit of sailing commercially, outside of government. I taught at the CCG College, which was an excellent opportunity to sharpen my technical knowledge, and, of course, working with the students was always challenging — they’d ask fundamentally simple questions that made me go back to the roots of the business.

We have some truly great marine people in Canada – great characters. It’s a very small fraternity and good fraternity for helping each other.

I was a Marine Surveyor and then Manager of the Transport Canada Marine Safety office in Prince Edward Island. You’re seeing ships at their worst so you’re learning a lot. Then 10 years at Marine Atlantic with a number of services in different parts of the world that allowed me to travel, meet a lot of experts and see a lot of new ship designs and innovations.

It was through Marine Atlantic, when I was supporting the Transport Canada delegation to IMO, that I was asked if I

would be interested in taking on the role as Director General, Transport Canada Marine Safety. I spent five years there with a very good team working with me.

We developed the new Canada Shipping Act 2001. We didn’t have the time or resources to get all of the regulations in place but the present managers at Marine Safety are doing that now, and doing a good job I might add.

It was all of that experience that gave me the opportunity to join LR and it was the knowledge of the clients in Canada, the industry plus my engineering knowledge that allowed me to progress. But you’re only as successful as the people that you work with, both in and outside of any company. We have some truly great marine people in Canada — great characters. It’s a very small fraternity and good fraternity for helping each other. I came into LR as Operations Manager for Atlantic Canada — both offshore and marine; then promoted to Operations Manager for Eastern Canada which included Ontario and Quebec; and then promoted to Marine Manager for Canada.

BCSN: Could you describe the origins of Lloyd’s Register and provide an understanding of the structure of a classification society?

INDUSTRY INSIGHT Bud: Lloyd’s Register started in the second half of the 18th Century when a number of marine insurers, based in London, would gather at Edward Lloyd’s Coffee House. During this same time, a system was developed for independent inspection of hulls and equipment in ships that could be used for insurance coverage. In 1760, which is when we trace our heritage, a committee was formed to address insurance issues and in 1764, the first Lloyd’s Register book was published. That book became the origin of the class society because it classified each ship on an annual basis.

The hull was classified by A, E, I, O or U and equipment was rated as G, M or B (good, middling or bad) which in time was replaced by the numbers one, two or three. So you may have heard the expression that a vessel is ‘A1’ meaning first or highest class for both hull and equipment.

We are the oldest classification society followed by ABS in 1862 in America, Det Norske Veritas (DNV) in 1864 in Norway, and Germanischer Lloyd in 1867 in Germany. LR presently has 246 offices in 180 countries with between 7,500 to 8,000 employees.

Because we don’t have company shares, under U.K. law, the trustees have a personal responsibility to ensure that...we have a significant component of charitable giving...

We are a ‘not-for-profit distributing organization’ — we actually just changed our structure to a foundation which is now called Lloyd’s Register Foundation and is a registered charity in London. The Foundation is the sole shareholder of LR Group Ltd. which owns the businesses we have around the world, including LR North America. We’re in the process of setting up Lloyd’s Register Canada as well.

As a result of that change in structure, we’re administered by two separate boards — the Foundation board and then a board of trustees for LR Group. Because we don’t have company shares, under U.K. law, the

Making a point. Bud addresses attendees at the Nautical Institute Command Seminar, Victoria, B.C., June, 2011. trustees have a personal responsibility to ensure that we are being driven by our mandate but also have a significant component of charitable giving which we do through a number of different programs — for example, the Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust or our LR250 Initiative which celebrated our 250th anniversary.

BCSN: What is the connection to Lloyd’s List or Lloyd’s Underwriting Syndicate?

Bud: Lloyd’s Register is only connected to those entities by the name Lloyd’s. We did own LR Fairplay but we diversted ourselves of that involvement a few years ago. There’s confusion because you see the Lloyd’s prefix used for a number of companies and entities — like the Lloyd’s Underwriting Syndicate. They use it because they have some original link back to the Lloyd’s entity in London in the second half of the 18th Century and the original coffee house. As a result, we are often confused with Lloyd’s Insurance and Underwriting Syndicates.

BCSN: Could you describe the work that LR does?

Classification societies were originally very specific to marine but LR now

is generally divided across four main business streams: Energy — we provide plan approval, surveys, verification and consultancy services to owners, manufacturers, operators, and engineering procurement contractors for both onshore and offshore projects. We have expertise right across the energy supply chain from oil fields to pipelines, refineries, power stations and manufacturing and we provide services from design appraisals to verification during construction right up to commissioning and even verification during operation; Management systems — we offer business assurance services, for example, certification, validation and verification for a lot of ISO standards across the board. Many of our clients (and many of our competitors’ clients) are ISO-certified by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) on things like quality, environment, occupational safety and health, climate change, food safety and risk management — for example, we’re the auditors for Mars (the candy bar) for quality assurance.

Transportation — we offer a whole range of engineering, risk management and consultancy services for rail November 2012 BC Shipping News 11

INDUSTRY INSIGHT systems and land transportation. We’re also becoming quite active in areas such as nuclear safety. We have a number of other companies that provide specialist services — for example, Martec Ltd., here in Halifax is an engineering firm that specializes in advanced engineering simulation technology for the design and analysis of complex structures and systems, such as ships, armoured vehicles, ports and harbours, and offshore structures.

Then there’s the marine side. It’s the oldest part of LR and still the largest part of the company but that share is diminishing as the other groups get traction and build their markets.

All in all, the LR Group consists of nearly 100 companies but the

classification role is the oldest and still the largest part.

BCSN: Could you describe the range of LR’s extra-curricular involvement in the marine industry? I’m referring to your research and training functions.

Bud: Regarding training, it’s not necessarily STCW-type training (Standards for Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) but rather more geared toward helping people understand new regulations and new technology or helping them increase efficiency of operations. There is some compliance training for things like Safety Management Systems but most of our training is about equipment, efficiency and ship types and how to operate them. Also, we help companies

understand ‘class’ — for example, if you’re going to provide material to a shipbuilder, we can help you understand the requirements for that.

There is some confusion for people when you say ‘class’ — I simply tell them I’m a third party validator. We’ll make sure the design is in compliance with the rules that are chosen (i.e., SOLAS, Transport Canada regulations or LR rules) and we make sure the ship is built, operated and maintained in accordance with those rules all with the view of protecting those who sail on it and interact with it in addition to protecting the marine environment.

There is some confusion for people when you say ‘class’ — I simply tell them I’m a third party validator.

For research, first and foremost we do this to maintain our technological edge. Our rules, which we publish for a number of different ship types and offshore installations, need to advance with technology so we need to study and research those technologies — this could be anything from new equipment to materials to maintenance practices.

Over and above that, we fund the research done by the Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust (LRET) which is for the good of the whole industry and not necessarily privy to LR. In fact, a condition of the LRET is that it not be used to specifically benefit LR. We have, for example, projects dealing with extreme weather events and we fund chairs of safety in different universities and these are projects which are for the betterment of society and the industry as a whole.

We have a strategic research group based in London (soon to be moved to Southampton where we have formed a strategic alliance with the University and other marine partners to develop a research centre). At any given time, we have 40 or 50 research projects on the go.

BCSN: Looking at the shipping industry in general, we see more and more focus (and regulations) on environmental sustainability, safety and competency. Could you describe some of the trends and their impact on the industry?

12 BC Shipping News November 2012

INDUSTRY INSIGHT Bud: First, I have to preface this to note that I’m expressing my own personal opinion. While that usually coincides with LR’s viewpoint, I just wanted to make that clear. So yes, the trends are for more focus on environmental sustainability, safety and competency. If you look at the work being done at the IMO, the sustainable development goals for the marine industry are balanced on eight pillars: • safety culture and environmental stewardship; • energy efficiency; • new technology and innovation; • education and training; • security and anti-piracy actions; • traffic management; • infrastructure development; and • adoption and implementation of global standards by IMO. If you take it in that context, the whole issue of competency is extremely important — not just individual competency but competency that starts with the design of the ship. You can have the most well-educated seafarers but if you put them in front of equipment that is not user-friendly, your outcomes will be negative. LR works with companies quite early on in the design phase to make sure that, ergonomically and human-element wise, the design is (and this is just not about ships — it can be for platforms, trains, switching systems for railway tracks, etc.) such that visual and audible cues are easily distinguishable and will match the culture, understanding or background of the individual to try to avoid those mistakes that can happen with a human/machine interface.

ECDIS — how to assimilate all of the information and make it available in a friendly format so that people clearly understand it. It’s part and parcel with increasing levels of competency as ships become much more technologically complex. It also addresses the lack of manpower — if you look at the size of crew now versus 40 years ago, there were three times as many crew onboard then than there is now. So being able to assimilate all of that information, do your duties safely and efficiently

requires a lot of training and understanding and a lot of design input and lessons learned to make systems more user-friendly.

BCSN: What about trends in environmental sustainability?

Bud: At LR, we try to help the marine industry understand some of the new regulations. We’ve published guides on equipment and we have projects on the go that address the requirements in areas such as ballast water, alternative fuels, etc. As the marine

Over a Century of Service to BC’s Marine Industry

As the marine industry becomes more regulated, we have to make sure that the regulations being put in place are achievable.

I think STCW is all about trying to do that. The new requirements under STCW deal with that interface with technology. For example, we now have ECDIS training (Electronic Chart Display and Information System) and the whole issue of interfacing with

Phone 604.988.3111 www.seaspan.com

November 2012 BC Shipping News 13

INDUSTRY INSIGHT industry becomes more regulated, we have to make sure that the regulations being put in place are achievable. For example, low sulphur fuel — it needs to be available to be an effective regulation. Recently, in one of the trade publications, a colleague from DNV indicated that the provision of low sulphur fuel by the 2020 date was going to be perhaps the biggest problem the industry faced because we can regulate the marine industry but we don’t regulate the refining industry.

The Energy Efficiency Design Index and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan are both good initiatives in my view but they need time to be permitted to mature.

I’m not saying we don’t need to address environment issues — we do.

We all do — ships, airplanes, trains — everyone needs to do something about greenhouse gases but if low sulphur fuel isn’t available, what are we going to do?

I was always taught as a regulator that if the regulation is not enforceable, why bother? Supply is a big challenge. The other challenge is the cost which will

be passed onto the consumer and that’s a concern as well.

The Energy Efficiency Design Index and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan are both good initiatives in my view but they need time to be permitted to mature. We see a lot of owners wanting highly energy-efficient ships but are challenged in getting financing in a depressed market.

There is a lot to be gained through a fact-type program where you actually try to measure the energy efficiency of a ship. The problem is coming up with adequate and proper measures to do that. There’s a lot of work ongoing at IMO and a lot of research being done by classification societies and governments around the world to have that position solidified. I believe marketbased measures is the right way to proceed but I don’t agree with carbon trading. I think carbon trading is just a pure cost that will ultimately get passed on to the consumer and, in some cases, will permit the worst-case characters to carry on as usual. It also creates an entire industry which can speculate for the purpose of financial gain.

There are a number of initiatives right now — certainly the quality shipping companies all have significant resources being put into environmental research and development and are

looking at alternative energies. That’s particularly the case here in Canada where you have a lot of very conscientious ship owners looking hard at how they can address the requirements but also the conflicting problems — how do you increase power to cater to some of the newer equipment without increasing the energy consumed? Balancing all of the various requirements and at the same time maintaining their business is key.

BCSN: LR recently published a Future of Shipping document — in a general sense, what is the future of shipping?

Bud: Our publication deals with future fuels and fuel management. It looks at some of the things owners are doing with alternative fuels, things like fuel cells which I think has great potential. We have projects that are looking at LNG fuel and essentially the kinds of steps you can take to reduce energy demand. We’ve seen a lot of management of operations — reducing speeds, slow steaming, longer trips with less fuel consumption. In addition to passage planning, there are other activities like hull management (the best hull form or coatings), lubricants, lighter materials or even fancy bow designs and stern flaps.

Because of the price of LNG, it’s probably one of the most likely alternatives, perhaps combined with a fuel cell.

We see a lot of companies looking at different types of propulsion. Electrical propulsion, super conducting and super cool super conducting propulsion motors, variable speed drives, waste heat recovery are all ways to reduce energy demand. And we are experimenting with alternative sources of energy like natural gas-fuelled engines or wind-powered vessels. A couple of ships are looking at using the old Flettner rotor design which is essentially a wind-powered, slow-speed turbine used to power the ship. There are also projects looking at fuel cell generators and biofuel engines as well as natural gas. Because of the price of LNG, it’s probably one of the most likely alternatives, perhaps combined with a

14 BC Shipping News November 2012

Photo courtesy of Canadian Sailings.

Left to right: Jim Pound, Algoma; Bud; Roy Hickingbottom, McAsphalt Industries. fuel cell. STQ in Quebec have already contracted a shipyard in Italy to build a LNG ferry, so these things are underway and happening.

People still talk about nuclear reactors. I’m not sure that that’s a sustainable solution but that’s ongoing as well in respect of nuclear shipping.

BCSN: Is the fear of nuclear power overblown?

Bud: As an engineer, I would say yes. It is manageable but is it truly sustainable when the by-products have such a long life span? We need to reduce the amount of radioactive material that results from nuclear power. Certainly nuclear can generate a lot of power for long periods of time. Navies have proven it can be used very safely — the U.S. and Britain have done it. To me it’s an option but most people would say it’s not truly sustainable because of the waste product.

As requirements get put in place — everything from ballast water treatments to garbage management to sewage treatment — there are a lot of investments required but a lot of attention needs to be paid both by ship owners and regulators to make sure that solutions are implemented properly.

We need to ensure that by resolving one problem, we don’t create another.

BCSN: Raising the issue of regulators, could you describe the recently instituted Delegated Statutory Inspection Program (DSIP)?

Bud: The DSIP has its genesis in the new Canada Shipping Act 2001 but there’s been a degree of delegation on Great Lakers since the 1980s. It would be great if Transport Canada Marine Safety could be fundamentally independent and do their own research and develop their own rules and regulations for the construction of ships but the reality is they don’t have the resources. In the CSA 2001, authority is given to the Minister to delegate any of the duties of a steamship

inspector to an individual or organization. Many countries in the world delegate marine inspections for ocean-going vessels to recognized organizations (ROs), usually classification societies. In Canada, the DSIP was set up to do exactly that. Any of the five ROs can inspect vessels and issue certificates on behalf of Transport Canada but it’s not an abdication of responsibility in any sense. Transport Canada still has the right to go onboard any ship in Canada or any Canadian ship anywhere in the world at any point in time to audit it and ensure it is in the shape you would expect.

LR can now inspect the ships and issue certificates in all areas except for personnel. We do not do personnel certification nor do we issue safe manning certificates. At this point in time, we do not do marine occupation, safety and health either but every other function onboard can be carried out by any one of the five ROs. BCSN: Will delegation be expanded to include things like personnel?

Bud: I don’t know for sure but I believe that the flexibility is there. Government departments are under a tremendous amount of pressure to find alternative ways to deal with compliance. I appreciate that I’m hedging on the answer but I don’t want people to think I know what government policy is because I don’t. I think that just given the pressure we read about every day within government, there will be more delegation where possible — different ship types or ships that aren’t in class (because right now it’s only ships in class that

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INDUSTRY INSIGHT are delegated). There is some movement on the West Coast from industry — Phill Nelson, my good friend at the Council of Marine Carriers, for example, worked on a pilot project for alternative compliance with Transport Canada. I think they will be searching for ways to have the industry comply without decreasing safety and still be able to maintain control through verification and oversight.

BCSN: I want to spend some time looking at issues that are top of mind.

Starting with the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy, to what extent is

LR involved? Could you describe the typical involvement of a classification society in new build projects?

Bud: First and foremost, there was a need for NSPS. It’s a brilliant concept recognized as such worldwide.

The architects of NSPS as a program should be lauded. Both the Canadian Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Navy have aging assets and I know that both organizations will look forward to new equipment. To be honest, with the amount of work they do and the programs they’re expected to deliver, they need this.

About Bud Streeter

B

ud Streeter began his career in 1969 as an Engineer Officer Cadet in the Canadian Coast Guard College in Sydney, N.S. He obtained his Diploma in Marine Engineering in 1973, followed by his First Class Engineering Certificate of Competency in 1978. Throughout the 1980s, Bud advanced his career through a number of positions within Transport Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard as well as various marine engineering positions onboard both commercial and government vessels. By the end of that decade, Bud had been promoted to Director, Marine Technical for Marine Atlantic Inc.

As the program was being developed, and shipyards were preparing their bids, we weren’t involved. Where we’ve been involved is in the designs. We’ve been working with different organizations — designers and in some cases with government to assess the designs against our rules or Transport Canada regulations and we’ve been doing that on a contract basis.

With the CCG, we’ve been working on educating them about class — not on LR but on class. With the RCN, it’s a bit different. We have a contract on the Joint Supply Ship which has been in place for several years and we’ve been working with them and the designers — BMT Fleet — on that particular design. We’ve also worked with STX, the designers of the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship.

Normally, for new builds, we work with the designers if it’s determined early on that the vessel is going to be designed to LR class. We advise them on whether their design is compliant. We’ll review the design at any stage they want against our rules and requirements and against SOLAS, and in the case of a Canadian vessel, against Transport Canada regulations. The earlier we get involved, the better to avoid going down a dead-end road.

Bud reached the level of Vice President Safety and Regulatory Affairs, Marine Atlantic Inc. before taking on the position of Director General Transport Canada Marine Safety. Notable achievements during this time included heading up the Canadian delegation to the International Maritime Organization; Deputy Chairman of the IMO Inter-sessional Working Group which developed the ISPS Code; and Chairman of the Canadian Interdepartmental Working Group on Maritime Security. He led the reform of the Canada Shipping Act which was completed in 2001.

Looking ahead, with the IMO and

Since 2002, Bud has risen through the ranks of Lloyd’s Register, starting as Operations Manager for the Atlantic Canada area of Lloyd’s Register North America and eventually leading to his current position as Vice President, Lloyd’s Register North America and Marine Business Manager for Canada. He served one year as Vice President Lloyd’s Register North America and Marine Business Manager for the U.S., Panama, Mexico and the Caribbean before returning to his position in Canada where he took on the additional position of President of Martec Ltd.

Looking ahead, with the IMO and SOLAS moving toward goal-based regulations, our work becomes essentially a risk assessment process. You look at what you want the ship to do and the possible ways to achieve that and then decide on the best way to do it. Obviously, we would recommend our involvement very early on in that process because if not, you’re going to have to explain the whole risk rationale process to us to get us to understand what it is you’re trying to get approved.

So typically, most designers and shipyards will get us involved very early in the stage.

Bud is currently a member of the Canadian Institute of Marine Engineering and the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.

Bud lives in Halifax with his wife Carol of 39 years. Their son Mark is a PhD. student at Queens University and their daughter, Tamara, is a graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

16 BC Shipping News November 2012

SOLAS moving toward goal-based regulations, our work becomes essentially a risk assessment process.

INDUSTRY INSIGHT BCSN: Arctic navigation — are we jumping the gun with our expectations that it will be a viable shipping route any time soon?

Bud: Yes. The worst thing we could do is think there’s going to be open water so we don’t need to take any precautions. If we ignore the reality, we’re going to have an accident and there is no way we can deal with it. We just do not have infrastructure in place to deal with a large number of injuries or major ship casualty. If you look at the Polar Code, the intent is to protect the polar regions from shipping and protect ships in polar waters. Those are two very important differences. We want to maintain the unique environments that exist but at the same time recognize there are many unique risks — weather; lack of good charts and communication systems; lack of navigational aids; remoteness — and then on top of all that, regardless of whether there is ice or not, there is still the cold weather and the ship may or may not be designed to work in that kind of environment. We need to have some clear requirements.

The worst thing we could do is think there’s going to be open water [in the Arctic] so we don’t need to take any precautions.

Now, Canada has the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act, and the Canada Shipping Act 2001 contains pollution regulations that deal with shipping in the Arctic. Our regulations are different from the rest of the world which makes it very difficult to enforce except on Canadian ships. There may be a perception that Canadian ships are operating at a form of disadvantage. I don’t agree with that perception but note that you can’t have 25 different regimes. We need to complete the Polar Code. Canada is really trying to drive that agenda and has a lot of support from members of different classification societies as they try to develop a global position. It’s something that has to be pushed.

There’s also limited experience in operating in conditions in the Arctic.

Countries like Russia, Norway, Canada and even the U.S. have that experience and companies like Fednav have been up there for many years and they clearly understand the challenges and the investments needed in training and ships that are designed and equipped to operate in that climate. The danger is

You either accept that you’ll do everything you can to make tanker traffic safe or you accept that you will not have tanker traffic. with the excursion tourists or the odd person who pokes around up there with a ship — that poses a risk that has to be addressed. Until there is some realization that it could become a sanctioned route for navigation and governments are willing to invest in the infrastructure to support that, we need to have a good rule set so that the ships up there can look after themselves.

BCSN: What are your thoughts on the tanker traffic debate we’ve been seeing here on the West Coast?

BCSN: I’ve been reading through a lot of the documentation that has been submitted as part of the discussion on the Enbridge project and it all boils down to competency — not just of the oil tanker companies but the people who navigate on those waters with them. It is possible to operate terminals and have tanker traffic quite safely but that’s a detached technical look. I think it can be done safely, the federal

government thinks it can be done safely but I can understand why people don’t want to have it there. To me, it’s more to do with politics than safety and risk. You can deal with safety and risk. To remove the risk entirely, you would need to remove the activity that deals with it. You either accept that you’ll do everything you can to make tanker traffic safe or you accept that you will not have tanker traffic.

BCSN: Do you have any insights into trends in the workforce, for example, how to deal with the demands for skilled labour and the upcoming retirement surge?

Bud: I’m working with a number of different groups that are looking at this problem, including LR, basically trying to answer the question: How do we entice people into our business?

We have to figure out ways to make seagoing more attractive to young people. You can’t look at just labour in isolation of other issues though. You need to look holistically at the entire industry. If Canada is going to develop a marine industry bigger than the one we have now you have to look at the whole picture — what do you do to make ownership attractive; how do you make seafaring attractive; what do you do about registration, certification — all of those issues need to be looked at.

BCSN: Do you have any advice for the younger generation looking for a career in the shipping industry?

Bud: Take up dentistry…just kidding. It’s a great career with tremendous opportunities both at sea and onshore. BCSN

About Lloyd’s Register North America

L

loyd’s Register North America is part of the Lloyd’s Register Group Ltd., one of the world leaders in assessing business processes and products to internationally recognized standards. The standards are either those of major independent bodies or ones that have been developed by them. From design and new build to inservice operations and decommissioning, LR delivers complete lifecycle and risk management solutions to help ensure the safety, integrity and operational performance of assets and systems.

For more information, please visit: www.lr.org.

November 2012 BC Shipping News 17

HISTORY LESSON

Ships of Wood, Men of Steel:

Remembering the West Coast Fishermen’s Reserve

By Lisa Glandt

Librarian/Archivist, Vancouver Maritime Museum

T

he Fishermen’s Naval Reserve was a volunteer force formed in 1938 to provide a naval presence on the British Columbia coastline during the Second World War. It was made up of experienced fishermen and men from the towboat industry who reported to duty with their own vessels. Their primary mission was to patrol the coastline and keep watch for unauthorized vessels and enemy submarines.

The Fishermen’s Reserve constituted a fourth branch of naval service and was distinct from the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve and the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve. The Fishermen’s Reserve had its own rank system and an informal uniform of naval and fishing clothing that gave rise to their nickname as the “gumboot navy”. In its formative years, the Reserve had 17 vessels and 150 officers and men,

however, by 1942 numbers had grown to 42 boats and 975 men.

In February 1939 a formal training program began at Esquimalt on Vancouver Island. Men were instructed on parade drills, taught how to operate different types of guns, use depth charges, and improve their navigation skills. Crew remained with their vessels that were painted battleship grey and given a hull number with the prefix “F.R.”. They were equipped with radios and small arms (or machine-guns if the vessel was large enough), depth charges, minesweeping gear and/or sonar and then sent off to patrol the coast.

The skill and experience of the fishermen was soundly demonstrated when

Photo courtesy of Vancouver Maritime Museum.

it came to their first-hand knowledge of

The crew of the Marauder (F.R.3), 1941.

18 BC Shipping News November 2012

the coast...

The skill and experience of the fishermen was soundly demonstrated when it came to their first-hand knowledge of the coast and seamanship in local treacherous waters. The motto “Ships of Wood, Men of Steel” was soon adopted to describe the men of the Fishermen’s Reserve. The small vessels could safely enter the lesser bays and inlets up and down the coast. The Fishermen’s

VANCOUVER MARITIME MUSEUM

Photo courtesy of Vancouver Maritime Museum.

Fisherman’s Reserve vessel F.R.6 1940. Notice the machine gun on the wheelhouse roof.

Reserve enhanced their role by helping other vessels in distress and performing salvage tasks. After the bombing of Pearl Harbour, they participated in the seizure of Japanese-Canadian fishing boats from along the coast.

Chartered vessels were returned to their owners and, by January 1945, the last of the Fishermen’s Reserve had

In 1988, Carol Popp published The Gumboot Navy: Memories of the Men Who Served in the Fishermen’s Reserve that includes vivid remembrances and tales from veterans of the Fishermen’s Reserve. The Vancouver Maritime Museum is pleased to help preserve this history as our archival collection includes Dr. Joseph Boucher’s personal records and photographs from his time in the Fishermen’s Reserve and

participation on the organizing committees for the two reunions.

Lisa Glandt has been the Librarian/ Archivist for the Vancouver Maritime Museum since 2007. She started volunteering at the museum in 1999 sharing maritime stories with school children and now she preserves the stories. She can be contacted at archives@vancouvermaritimemuseum. com.

been demobilized.

As the war came to an end and the threat to the Pacific Coast grew smaller, members of the Fishermen’s Reserve were given the choice of transferring to the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve or returning to their previous employment. Chartered vessels were returned to their owners and, by January 1945, the last of the Fishermen’s Reserve had been demobilized.

Thirty years after disbanding, veterans of the Fishermen’s Reserve met for a reunion on October 1, 1975, at HMCS Discovery, Vancouver. A dinner and dance were held and many stories shared throughout the evening. The success of the first gathering led to a second Vancouver reunion held in 1977.

com m ercia l a nd ma ritime law on ca na da 's we s t coa s t.

W. Gary Wharton Mark W. Hilton Katherine A. Arnold David S. Jarrett

Nevin L. Fishman David K. Jones Catherine A. Hofmann Mark Tinmouth

Peter Swanson Neo J. Tuytel Connie Risi

associate counsel:

Lorna Pawluk

Joan Rush

Thomas S. Hawkins Tom Beasley Paul D. Mooney

Peter G. Bernard, QC (retired) tel: 6 0 4 .681 . 1 700 fax: 604. 681 . 1 788 emergency response: 604. 681 . 1 700 address: 1500–570 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6C 3P1 website: www.bernardpartners.com

November 2012 BC Shipping News 19

VETERAN PROFILE Captain Ieuan Lampshire-Jones

Seafarer or surveyor, Captain Jones outshines them all

L

ast year’s November issue of BC Shipping News included a photo of four Royal Marine veterans along with a note thanking them for their service. One of the marines, Bobby Kennedy, was shown proudly displaying five campaign medals from the Second World War. Beating that record by one and equally deserving of our thanks is Captain Ieuan Lampshire-Jones (Retd.). While distinguished by an exemplary Merchant Navy career, Captain Jones’ reputation as a marine surveyor in Canada has been just as impressive.

Born in a small village in Wales (Aberarth), Captain Jones followed in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and great grandfather by choosing a career at sea. “You had three choices: farmer, preacher or seaman,” said Jones. He joined his first merchant ship, the Lottie Rolfe (part of the Swansea Shipping Company’s fleet) in November, 1939. Recalling his first Christmas away from home in the city of Le Havre on the Normandy Coast, Captain Jones described a lavish reception hosted by the British Consulate that was interrupted by bombs being dropped by “Gerry”.

For his participation in the Second World War, Captain Jones received a total of eight medals (six campaigns and two service): • 1939 – 1945 War Service Star; • Battle of the Atlantic Star with Clasp denoting participation in D-Day landings at Juno Beach, Normandy; • North Africa Invasion Star; • Pacific Ocean Service Star; • Burma Invasion Star; • Italy Invasion Star; • 1939 – 1945 Defence Medal; and • 1939 – 1945 World War II Civilian Medal.

Following the war, Captain Jones stayed at sea for two more years (switching from coastal to deepsea shipping to finish off his sea-time requirements) before attending the Department of Marine Studies at the University of Wales; the Southshields Marine & Technical College; and the City of London Polytechnical School of Navigation. It was then back to sea throughout the 1950s and 1960s and finally landing in Vancouver in January 1969 to open up a field office for SGS Supervision Services.

if in good order, providing cleanliness certificates; acquiring test samples; supervising loading; and final displacement surveys. Projects also included pre-purchase surveys and both on-hire and off-hire surveys for ship charterers.

Covering a territory that included the entire Pacific Northwest (from Northern California up to Alaska) as well as the Yukon, Greenland and Canadian High Arctic, Captain Jones was often an integral part of ship loading operations, especially for new terminals. He was even called upon to provide piloting through the fjords of Greenland (the Marmorilik

As the Senior Principal Surveyor and Manager, Marine for Gen-Testing Laboratories, Captain Jones built a formidable reputation for his expertise in marine surveying.

As the Senior Principal Surveyor and Manager, Marine for Gen-Testing Laboratories, Captain Jones built a formidable reputation for his expertise in marine surveying. The job involved the inspection of ships coming into Vancouver and, 20 BC Shipping News November 2012

Captain Ieuan Lampshire-Jones with son Ian who followed his father’s footsteps to sea.

VETERAN PROFILE Fjords) for Cominco to watch for — and avoid — ‘growlers’ (bits of ice broken away from icebergs).

As an industry leader, Captain Jones and four others founded the Association of Marine Surveyors of BC (AMSBC) in 1969. He is still an active member of the AMSBC as well as the Company of Master Mariners (where he is currently Deputy Port Captain) and the Welsh Society. Interestingly enough, the same issues that Captain Jones faced as a marine surveyor in 1969 are the same as those experienced by AMSBC members today. “We originally organized to address the issue of foreign workers doing surveys here in Vancouver,” he said. “We worked through that issue (at the time, it was with Japanese surveyors) to the satisfaction of all but quite quickly faced the same problems with American surveyors.”

Interestingly enough, the same issues that Captain Jones faced as a marine surveyor in 1969 are the same as those experienced by AMSBC members today.

When asked about trends he’d seen throughout his career, Captain Jones was quick to note that most problems, especially throughout the 1970s, related to cleanliness of the cargo hold and competency of the crew. “Less crew and time pressures were increasingly becoming issues,” said Captain Jones.

“Vessels that used to be in port for eight to 10 days were now being turned around in three to four days. Ships in the 15,000 tonne-range would have 40 crew onboard and today, a ship of 70,000 tonnes would be lucky to have 17 people onboard.”

He also noted that onboard technology has, to an extent, played a role in changing the work of the marine surveyor. “Some ships have a system that tells you how much ballast there is or what the draft is but it’s not perfect and you can’t rely on it. You still have to follow the traditional methods of surveying and while there’s been no change in the kinds of calculations

The final shipment (#257) of BHP Minerals Canada’s Island Copper Mine copper concentrates at Port Hardy loaded by Captain Lampshire-Jones on January 5, 1996, onboard the Southeast Alaska sailing for Japan. Captain Jones loaded 213 of the 257 shipments, including the first and final — a world record for a marine surveyor. taken, the method to reach the calculation has changed due to technology.” And even though some ships now have systems that can check ballast or draft, the onboard system is only helpful as a backup for double-checking calculations.

While officially retired in 1988, Captain Jones remained active in the shipping industry as a consultant and has even given presentations to high school children to stir their

interests in both the mining and shipping industries.

Married to Margaret Philomena (who was an active member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force), Captain Jones has three daughters, two grandsons, two grand-daughters and one great granddaughter. His son succumbed to lung cancer in 1994 but had followed in the family tradition of going to sea.

Captain Jones, thank you for your service. BCSN

November 2012 BC Shipping News 21

CRUISE

Cruise trends for 2012

By Donna Spalding, North West and Canada Cruise Association

W

hat are top trends and how do Canadians feel about cruising? The passion for cruising as an exciting way to explore the world continued to grow for 2012. Thirteen new ships were introduced in 2011, a trend that is expected to continue with another 25 ship introductions planned between 2012 and 2015. More than 17 million people took a cruise, with North Americans constituting 60 per cent of cruise passengers globally.

In a recent poll by Harris/Decima, one of Canada’s most recognized and respected research firms, they found that a quarter of Canadian adults have taken a vacation trip at some point in their lifetime where they spent a least two nights aboard a cruise ship. And around one in eight have done so in the past three years and one in 10 plan to cruise in the next two years.

Changing It Up

The cruise world is getting smaller, seeking out new, undiscovered and less crowded ports is crucial. Expansion is creating emerging markets such as Asia, South America, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Abu Dhabi and the Emirates. With longer cruise seasons, Europe has become a year-round destination and Arctic and Antarctic voyages are hot tickets.

Harris/Decima found that 40 per cent of Canadians are currently 22 BC Shipping News November 2012

looking beyond North America and the Caribbean for their next cruise trip.

Extending Port Calls and Itineraries

Some lines are extending their stays in port offering guests the opportunity to take shorter tours, have time to explore attractions on their own or stay later to dine ashore and enjoy local nightlife.

More and more cruisers feel that seven days is just not long enough, and many of the major cruise lines are adding longer sailings, with the added benefit that ships can venture further from the embarkation port.

Seabourn has noticed a new cruise audience emerge for whom sevenday sailings are too short and twoweek itineraries too long. So the line launched a new series of 10-day cruises in the Mediterranean in 2012.

On Board

Enrichment programs and brand partnerships are providing cruisers with guest lecturers, celebrated chefs, including Relais & Châteaux L’École des Chefs cooking school and Guy’s Burger Joint from the Food Network’s Guy Fieri; and entertainment — Punchline Comedy Clubs, Blue Man Group, Legends in Concert, Howl at the Moon Dueling Pianos show, Slam Allen Band and Nickelodeon.

Dining experiences are getting more sophisticated. Holland America guests will see more diversity such as sustainable seafood and unique dining like their Evening at Le Cirque. Holland is also launching new culinary initiatives that turn a cruise into a ‘food network at sea’.

Dining atmospheres are becoming increasingly entertaining too. On the Celebrity Silhouette, the Qsine restaurant features iPad menus and lamps mounted upside down to the ceiling.

Meals are styled for a food-as-theatre concept. The disco shrimp is presented in a glass with a flashing disco light and sushi comes on a stick like a lollipop.

Unique top-deck offerings

Ever since Royal Caribbean introduced rock-climbing walls, skating rinks, zip-lining, trampolines and surf simulators, other lines have risen to the challenge. You can now do a high ropes course on the Carnival Magic, ride a huge waterslide on Disney, and have a simulated Formula One experience on Costa.

You can also watch movies on deck, have a picnic on real grass and stroll through Central Park. On the new Costa Favolosa, the Formula One simulated race car experience offers thrills of travelling at virtual speeds of 350 km/h.

Better all-inclusive value

Harris/Decima’s research finds that price and value for money are the

CRUISE biggest motivators. To show the value of cruising, luxury lines have launched aggressive savings to entice first-timers and also get mass-market cruisers to upgrade to luxury through complimentary airfare, credits and discounts. some cruise lines are starting to include drinks in the fare; Regent even includes shore excursions.

A recent study of a 10-night all-inclusive Mediterranean cruise compared to a non-all-inclusive showed the allinclusive could be less expensive. The example studied included flights, alcohol, shore excursions, transfers and tips, the cost — $4,524 compared to $4,915 for a regular cruise.

services. The Norwegian Gem has a similar area with private suites, two of which are 5,000 square feet and have their own pool.

On The Horizon

River cruising is hotter than hot, Avalon Waterways is adding three new ships for European river cruises, and two ships will traverse the mighty Mississippi — the 436-passenger American Queen, the largest steamboat in the world, and in August the launching of the brand new 150-passenger Queen of the Mississippi by American Cruise Lines. People like it because they feel like ‘we’re still on a ship but we’re within sight of land and it’s easy to get on and off’, and they’re smaller.

In Alaska, the 49th state is experiencing a resurgence. The state “head tax” for cruise passengers led some lines to reduce their Alaska itineraries, but since it was rolled back for 2011 the ships are returning. Higher airfares to Europe have more people looking at Alaska for their cruise vacation.

Customized shore side experiences

Looking for authenticity — genuine, non-manufactured excursions? Climb the steps of the Potala Palace in Tibet, walk the sand dunes of the Namib Desert, hunt crocodile in the Amazon, kayak in Alaska, ride an elephant in Thailand, or fly over Moscow in a MiG jet.

Royal Caribbean sees a growing popularity in private car and guides for completely personalized excursions whether it’s a VIP tour of the Vatican or catered beach picnic for a family reunion.

Since new ship construction has slowed, lines are spending money renovating existing ships. Carnival recently announced Fun Ship 2.0, a $500 million enhancement program to upgrade their ships. In early 2012, RCI spent a reported $58 million renovating the Rhapsody of the Seas.

Virtually all Canadians know about the Costa Concordia accident. It has been an overarching story in the cruise world for 2012. Cruise industry officials and travel agents say people who have cruised before and understand Photo courtesy of Celebrity Cruise Lines.

Extensive renovations to ships

Last Thoughts

how safe it is won’t be affected as much

by Concordia as potential first-time passengers. Key findings from the Harris/Decima research confirm that Canadians are not giving up on the cruise industry and feel that incidents are rare and wouldn’t affect their likelihood to take a cruise.

The cruise industry has enjoyed a period of substantial growth, despite the unstable global economy and an increasingly competitive tourism marketplace. Around 17.2 million passengers are expected to take a cruise in 2012 — up five per cent from last year.

Fourteen new ships are hitting the market in 2012 (13 new, one re-introduced), ranging in capacity from 32 to 3,690 passengers.

The Carnival Miracle launched its first year-round cruise program from New York in April, and in June the Carnival Glory started operating a new schedule of Canada cruises from Boston.

Celebrity will send a ship to Australia and New Zealand for winter 2012-13.

Holland America will add a 14-day China and Korea voyage from Hong Kong and several new European voyages. Princess Cruises has the largest European deployment yet, with seven ships sailing 57 itineraries. The continuing globalization of the industry was one of the major topics at Cruise Shipping Miami in March 2012.

Sanctuaries and Hideaways — Exclusive and Unique

Princess has introduced Sanctuary areas, private getaways with plush seating and massage cabanas on their ships. The Celebrity Silhouette offers their Hideaway area and the Norwegian Epic has their Posh Beach Club for peace and quiet.

The ship-within-a-ship concept, such as MSC Yacht Club, is an exclusive enclave with unique cabins and special

Fine dining experiences, like the Qsine restaurant onboard Celebrity vessels, are just one way cruise lines are enhancing the passgenger experience.

November 2012 BC Shipping News 23

Ports & terminals

Good news for West Coast shippers: Two new ports likely

By Ray Dykes

T

Campbell River

In Campbell River, Catalyst has sold its 1,249-acre industrial site and surrounding lands for $8.6 million to Pacifica Deep Sea Terminals Inc. In late September from Alberta, new owner and Director, Harold Jahn, told

24 BC Shipping News November 2012

BC Shipping News that he expected the deal to close within 14 days — about mid-October.

Having two developing ports on the go at the same time is rare for the West Coast and, once fully in operation, they will bring new shipping outlets...

The original target date of September 5 passed because of the legal complications of dealing with the large site and its numerous water lots and the different agencies involved in transfers.

Pacifica was originally formed as a company to create a new port in the

Kitimat area and had about 30 tenants interested in that proposal before it died, unable to meet environmental and other conditions in time. Now, Jahn says many of these would-be tenants are keen on the Campbell River project, which involves “a wonderful site with over one million square feet of existing buildings” many of which can be used again.

The Elk Falls pulp mill in Duncan Bay was closed permanently by Catalyst in 2010 and since then its equipment has been decommissioned and some demolition completed. Left intact are three different docks and water lots covering 173 acres. The two pulp shipment docks are each 152 metres long and have a depth alongside of 7.8 m. A

Photo courtesy of Pacifica Deep Sea Terminals Inc.

wo idle pulp mill sites on the British Columbia West Coast are about to be transformed into exciting new deepsea shipping opportunities.

As new multi-use ports, the Catalyst Paper Elk Falls mill just north of Campbell River and the oft-rescued Skeena Cellulose pulp mill site at Watson Island in Prince Rupert, could bounce back to life as never before.

Both have proven deepsea docks, although they may need some work, and each has unused backup lands that will be transformed into new industrial parks if the plans go ahead as hoped.

Each will mean hundreds of new jobs and scores of new business opportunities in the neighbouring cities of Campbell River and Prince Rupert, but there are still hurdles to jump in both projects.

Having two developing ports on the go at the same time is rare for the West Coast and, once fully in operation, they will bring new shipping outlets, increased competition, or maybe even relief for existing B.C. ports that are under capacity pressure.

Pacifica Deep Sea Terminals Inc. is just about to close the deal for ownership of the Elk Falls docks.

Ports & terminals

Photo courtesy of Pacifica Deep Sea Terminals Inc.

is something he said he’d prefer to comment on when it is a done deal, but he’s no doubt salivating on the jobs and wealth it could bring to his community.

The Royal City Star may be brought back to life as a floating resaurant at Elk Falls docks. paper shipment wharf also ranges 152 m and has a depth of 4.6 m and this is suitable for barge traffic.

Jahn is confident all three docks will be used for Panamax-size ocean carriers up to 82,500 deadweight tonnes in his new project and says multiple zoning and other Agricultural Land Reserve conditions will be met. Previously, Gearbulk self-unloading vessels used to be the norm and that fleet ranged up to about 72,500 dwt.

Jahn plans to have an office active on the site by October 15 and says he’s having “about half a dozen conversations a day” with would-be tenants.

Early prospects include exporting aggregates; distribution warehouses; a lithium battery plant; ocean wave energy equipment fabrication; algaebased solar cells; and even an electric vehicle assembly plant. Imports will also be welcome at the new port.

There’s even the Royal City Star, a paddle wheeler that once plied the Fraser River from New Westminster as a casino, that is anchored at the mill site and could be brought back to life as a floating restaurant.

Jahn, who is also busy developing three industrial parks in northern Alberta, says Pacifica’s goal is focused on transforming the former paper mill into a dynamic industrial park and port facility “with the goal of creating over 400 full-time positions for the community of Campbell River within the next three years.”

While there are “a lot of potential users of the site,” he adds that nondisclosure agreements are holding him

back from talking about them in detail until development permits are received and companies can declare their intent publicly.

For Campbell River Mayor Walter Jakeway, the prospect of having a working port and new industrial operations in his city after the past disappointments of the Elk Falls closure

Watson Island

At Watson Island, a new bulk shipping terminal and surrounding industrial park has been planned by a joint venture company set up by Colonial Coal International, Hillsborough Resources Ltd., and two First Nations groups — the Lax Kw’alaams and the Metlakatla.

They have offered the City of Prince Rupert $5 million for the Cellulose site and $500,000 to the District of Port Edward for adjacent lands. The wouldbe buyers have formed the Watson Island Development Corp., known as WatCo, and while their conditional offer has been accepted they are now awaiting the results of a dizzying round of legal negotiations underway because of the nature of the previous sale.

November 2012 BC Shipping News 25

Ports & terminals its port development plan. Not surprisingly, the sale conditions to the joint venture include the development, approval and funding of a remediation plan for the land, which is contaminated as the result of decades of use by the pulp mill. WatCo has offered to fund the planning process and make a significant contribution to the cleanup, pending provincial approval.

Not surprisingly, the sale conditions to the joint venture include the development, approval and funding of a remediation plan for the land...

The Watson Island site has a single dock 360 metres long and with a 10.6 m draft and was exclusively used for wood pulp and lumber shipments from the adjacent mill. It is most likely to handle Handymax-sized vessels between 40,000 and 60,000 dwt in any new life.

Photo courtesy of Colonial Coal.

Some history is needed. Once part of British Columbia Resources Investment Corporation (BCRIC), Skeena Cellulose Inc. opened in 1951 and after its BCRIC years and frequent rescue bids to keep it in operation, the mill site was sold in 2002 to Daniel Veniez, a former Chairman of nearby Ridley Terminals in the Port of Prince Rupert.

Veniez was unable to restart the mill and eventually sold it to Sun Wave Forest Products in 2006, a subsidiary of the China Paper Group, which was to be forgiven $6.5 million in taxes if it could revive the mill within a year.

Sun Wave failed to meet the deadline and the City of Prince Rupert then took possession of the site for back taxes owed. This move drew the ire of Sun Wave which began a legal challenge that has still to be resolved by the courts. Sun Wave has said that it isn’t disputing that taxes were owed, but is disputing when the city says they were due.

It is amid this legal squabble and its series of lawsuits that WatCo proposed

Photo courtesy of Colonial Coal.

Dock B at Watson Island.

Dock C at Watson Island.

26 BC Shipping News November 2012

Colonial Coal has two properties in the Tumbler Ridge area — Huguenot and Flatbed — and hopes to bring them into production between 2016 and 2018 once permitting has been completed.

The company expects to ship coal through the new terminal on Watson Island using existing rail connections involving Canadian National to Prince Rupert. A new 65-kilometre spur line will be needed to the Huguenot property should it go ahead, says WatCo President & CEO, Perry Braun.

While the new multi-port facility will be on privately held land well served by existing road and rail links, the water lots it uses and any cargo terminal operations will bring it under the jurisdiction of the Prince Rupert Port Authority, says Shaun Stevenson, PRPA Vice President of Trade Development & Public Affairs.

Four-time Prince Rupert Mayor Jack Mussallem says the privately-held land on Watson Island will be used for shipping a variety of products including coal, mineral ores and vegetable oils. He has been told there could be another 200 full-time jobs because of the new port facility and is delighted by this as acceptable StatsCan multipliers mean each job supports three people.

“It will benefit all people in the city as it will return Watson Island back into the tax base,” says the Mayor. And the new port will also share the back side of Ridley Island across Porpoise Harbour where huge development is underway expanding Ridley Terminals coal export facility, adding a new rail loop to serve multiple users other than the coal terminal, and including other possible projects such as a potash terminal and a wood pellet facility.

While he is not at the table, Mayor Mussallem says he is confident it will go ahead. “There is a desire to see this happen,” he adds. “I am hopeful the courts will see the merit of this opportunistic matter and will have dealt with all other legal matters by November 30 this year.”

Ray Dykes is a former journalist who has worked his way around the world as a writer/photographer. Ray can be reached at prplus@shaw.ca.

search and rescue Roberts Bank Lifeboat from water-jets to Arneson drives.

T

he Roberts Bank Lifeboat Station-Delta Society started its operation on March 1999 with the White Rose of Yorkshire, a Waveneyclass, all-weather, self-righting steel lifeboat powered by two GM 8V-53 engines. The society was at that time part of the Canadian Lifeboat Institute (CLI).

The White Rose of Yorkshire was sold and with the arrival of the MV Roberts Bank Lifeboat (previously THV Ready) the society became a community lifeboat service. From then until present, the Roberts Bank Lifeboat StationDelta Society operates as the Delta Marine Unit with stations at both Roberts Bank Deltaport and Ladner Harbour, maintaining their commitment to safety of those on and around the water in Delta. The vessel is operated and maintained by a fully volunteer crew from the local community.

The focus has always been Marine Search and Rescue, as well as providing a platform for the Delta Police and Delta Fire Rescue Departments and the Corporation of Delta.

The MV Roberts Bank Lifeboat is a VT Halmatic Pacific 38, that combines an exceptionally seaworthy hull form with robust construction, well-engineered systems, inflatable collar and inherent self-righting to provide safe operation in extreme conditions.

The vessel was built in 1995 and was previously used by Trinity House in the U.K. for lighthouse service and navigation aid maintenance. It has a beaching keel, a davit for equipment or man-over-board (MOB), four watertight compartments, sealed doors and windows and equipment redundancy.

It also carries Lloyds of London certification for its self righting capabilities.

Vessel statistics before re-power: • Cruise speed 22 knots — full speed approximately 30 knots • Length 38 feet — weight approximately 12 tons • Range approximately 300 nm

• Two Cummins 6CTA 8.3M series 400 HP engines • Two Castoldi water jets model 06 • 1,100 litres of diesel fuel in two separate tanks Due to the age of the engines and water jet propulsion system, the Delta Marine Unit began its re-power project on August 23, 2012. This project would not have been possible without a grant from BC Gaming and donations.

The current engines are being replaced by two Cummins 480 HP QSB diesel engines with silenced exhausts. These new engines offer clean, Tier III emissions as rated by the Environmental Protection Agency (USA) along with quiet operation and good fuel economy compared to the old engines. New fuel injection techniques make this a very quiet engine.

The jets are being replaced by Arneson Surface drives that are among the most efficient marine propulsion systems in the world. Their surfacepiercing propeller design reduces underwater drag by 50 per cent compared to conventional submerged propeller drive systems.

The only surfaces to contact water are propeller blades and a protective skeg. This results in higher overall

speed, quicker acceleration, and a better payload to power ratio and 50 per cent less drag significantly improves fuel economy while lowering operating costs.

Along with Arneson roll tabs (similar to trim tabs), swim grid, upgraded electronics and several updated features it will result in a more capable vessel having quicker acceleration, higher overall speed, trimable propeller shafts, positive thrust steering, responsive maneuverability and last but not least shallow water capabilities.

Vessel statistics after re-power: • Cruise speed 38 knots — full speed approximately 45 knots • Length 38 feet — weight approximately 10 tons • Range approximately 600 nm • Two Cummins 480 HP QSB diesel engines • Two Arneson No.10 surface drive’s • 1,100 litres of diesel fuel in two separate tank’s When this re-power is complete the Delta Marine Unit will enter a new chapter of their Marine Search and Rescue life and will be ready to continue to serve the community of Delta for the future.

For more information please visit: www.robertsbanklifeboat.ca.

MV Roberts Bank Lifeboat.

November 2012 BC Shipping News 27

Ports / shipping Port Metro Vancouver hosts naming ceremony for Grieg Star Shiping

F

or anyone visiting Vancouver Harbour’s waterfront on Friday, October 5, the site of a break bulk vessel tied up alongside the five sails of Canada Place, where cruise ships normally dock, was something of a spectacle. The unique occasion was to celebrate the newest addition to Grieg Star Shipping’s fleet, the Star Lima, a 204-metre L-class Open Hatch General Cargo ship.

“I am honoured to welcome Grieg Star’s leadership team to Vancouver for this very special occasion, the christening of the Star Lima,” said Robin Silvester, President and CEO, Port Metro Vancouver. “Hosting the event at Canada Place recognizes the important relationship between Grieg Star and Port Metro Vancouver, and our mutual commitment to efficient and reliable operations.”

Tom Rasmussen, President and CEO, Grieg Star Shipping, expressed the company’s pride and excitement and noted that: “The Star Lima is the first ship of 10 forming part of the largest new building program in the history

28 BC Shipping News November 2012

of the Grieg Group. After more than 40 years of servicing this coast, Grieg Star is growing to better serve our partners to gain access to the markets they require. We continue to demonstrate our commitment to providing competitive break bulk services to Western Canada.”

As noted by Rasmussen, the Star Lima is part of a new building program which includes the delivery of 10 vessels between 2012 and 2014. In addition, Grieg Star recently took delivery of two Supramax vessels.

The L-class vessels represent the 12th generation in the Grieg Star Open Hatch concept. The vessels are equipped with four 75-ton SWL electric slewing cranes with automatic power swivel for steady cargo handling and have completely unobstructed cargo holds for optimal cargo stowage and handling. The open hatch design is a well-proven concept and is tailormade for transportation of wood pulp and other forestry products, steel, containers and other utilized cargoes. The L-class has four tween deck levels.

Built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. in Ulsan, South Korea, the Star Lima is under the command of Captain Edwin Delos Reyes Mendoza and Chief Engineer Crispin Roble Batucan Jr. Particulars of the ship include: LOA 204.35 m Breadth (mold.)

32.26 m Depth main deck 19.00 m Draft (scantling) 12.64 m Deadweight 50.761 t Cargo hold capacity 66.776 m3 Cargo holds 9 Speed fully loaded 15.5 knots Consumption 38.5 t/24 hours Bow thruster 1.500 kW With local industry, government representatives and key members from Norway’s Grieg Star Shipping on hand, sponsor Ms. Benedicte Willumsen Grieg took the honour of naming the vessel.

The vessel is registered in the Norwegian International Registry (NIS) and classed with Det Norske Veritas.

Ports / shipping

Port Metro Vancouver President and CEO Robin Silvester presents Captain Mendoza with a commerative plaque.

Photos credit: BC Shipping News

Captain Mendoza is welcomed by DP World’s General Manager, Matthew Hoag.

The Grieg family. Left to right: Elisabeth Grieg, Chair, Grieg Group; Benedicte Willumsen Grieg and Camilla Grieg, Director of the Board and CEO, Grieg Group.

November 2012 BC Shipping News 29

arctic shipping

The reality of polar shipping

By Captain Duke Snider FNI

I

n what seems to be an almost constant barrage in popular media these days, we are informed of massive losses of sea ice in the Arctic and diminishing continental ice in the Antarctic. This past summer witnessed a year of “least ice” in the Arctic, prompting more predictions of “ice-free summers” in our near future.

These predictions of open water conditions evoke images of effortless sailing through a benign environment that was once considered an impossible venture. Those less knowledgeable about the reality in the Polar Regions leap to dreams of economic boom through shorter sea routes or access to here to fore inaccessible or certainly accessible only at great cost natural resources. The reality belies those dreams however.

The Polar Regions remain today and far into the future extremely challenging and not simply “open for business” to those that do not come prepared.

Certainly the facts clearly indicate that sea ice in general is in decline.

Paradoxically, over the last several years, coverage of winter sea ice in the Antarctic has been increasing.

Irrespective of the normal ebb and flow of ice conditions that we know anecdotally follow cycles of generally 11and 50-year peaks and troughs of good (less ice) and bad (more ice) years, there is an ongoing overall reduction in ice cover, and a concomitant increase in a length of shipping season that is based on open water conditions. Hard and fast “first in — last out” dates that held true for most of the past century are

30 BC Shipping News November 2012

sliding earlier and later respectively.

These do not denote ice free conditions, but only that open water coverage of varying degrees is occurring and ending days sooner and later.

Ice cover by its nature is mobile, susceptible to wind and current, making conditions variable. Conditions change hourly and daily as well as seasonally, so that even within an overall trend in reduction of ice coverage there are good and bad periods. As an example, at the beginning of this past Arctic Summer navigational season, polar pack ice remained hard against the Alaskan North Slope, challenging even ice class ships. At the same time in Eastern Canada, ships were damaged by heavier than normal ice conditions in the approaches to Iqaluit. At the other extreme, at the end of the 2012 Arctic navigation season we have experienced the “least ice cover” ever recorded in the Arctic Ocean. However, ice still remains within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Because of the variability of ice conditions, at any time in the Northwest Passage for example, navigation by non ice-strengthened ships can be halted by presence of thick first year or multyear ice somewhere along the passage.

Even today, rarely is the deep water (>11m depth) route open throughout for more than a few days at a time. In fact, the reduction in overall coverage has permitted heavier, thicker multiyear ice that normally would be kept clear of the normal Northwest Passage to enter areas that in the past would

have been considered free of this heavier ice. Multi-year ice is sea ice that has survived at least one summer’s melt and has continued to grow in thickness and hardness as salt leeches out. It becomes progressively harder over subsequent years and, like glacial ice which is extremely dense and hard, poses extreme hazard even to purpose built icebreakers. Unlike single season ice, multi-year and glacial ice are far more dense. One cannot expect an effortless, ice-free passage, but must prepare for unexpected delays due to changing ice conditions.

It takes many years of experience to learn how to identify ice and to safely manoeuvre a vessel in ice-infested waters.

As long as Arctic ice exists, it will remain a challenge. Knowing how to identify ice, plan for and execute a transit in ice-infested water, particularly where dangerous multi-year and glacial ice can be encountered, is vital to operations in the Polar Regions.

It takes many years of experience to learn how to identify ice and to safely manoeuvre a vessel in ice-infested waters. It is often a lack of experience in operations in ice-infested waters that result in damage or loss. Many that truly know the Polar Regions accept that the skills and knowledge required to operate there is far and above those

arctic shipping held by the average mariner. A single season transiting the Northwest Passage does not afford a bridge watch officer the knowledge or the skill. Over the past several decades this has been noticed by numerous agencies, jurisdictions and operators who have contact with Polar Ship Operations. There are many different ideas on what skills and knowledge are necessary to actually safely transit ice-infested waters, but to date there has not been any adoption of a clear global standard.

It is certainly not just ice that poses a challenge for those who endeavour to operate at the poles. Certainly ice may be the most visible difference, being just one manifestation of the extremes of weather experienced north and south of 60 degrees. And certainly the presence of ice and the extreme cold of winter has contributed to other great challenges, the remote nature of these areas and the resultant lack of infrastructure that mariners come to expect elsewhere on the globe.

Only the hardiest of humans have ventured into the Polar Regions over the past centuries. In the Antarctic Region, until late in the 19th Century humankind had never been present. Today, the only human presence is associated with research stations permitted under the Antarctic Treaty.

Around the circum-Arctic however, human presence has gone back many centuries but never in larger numbers as seen in more temperate climes. Over the last century, human presence has grown incrementally, and at times cyclically, as efforts to extract valuable natural resources have come and gone. Nonetheless, the region remains extremely difficult to travel around in winter months and any substantial centres of habitation must be the hardiest on earth. North American Arctic population centres count inhabitants generally in the hundreds. In the Russian and Norwegian Arctic, larger population centres may exist, but do not provide appreciable support to maritime shipping, unless related to a specific resource extraction enterprise.

Much has been made in the last year about the declarations of the Arctic nations in support of improving search and rescue capabilities in the far north. International agreements are now in place that have defined METAREAS and NAVAREAS that now cover all Arctic Waters. These require the responsible governments to have in place communications facilities and capabilities that will enable timely and effective dissemination of MET warnings and receipt and action with respect to distress communications. The struggle now is to actually put in place effective systems.

Satellite coverage remains problematic, the swath covered

Changes in the extent of sea ice since 1979.

In the Antarctic NOTHING exists to support shipping. At least in the Arctic some repair facilities exist...

The result of the reduced human footprint at both poles is that infrastructure that can support shipping for either re-supply or repair is virtually non-existent. In the Antarctic NOTHING exists to support shipping. At least in the Arctic some repair facilities exist in locations such as Nuuk, Greenland; Dutch Harbor, Alaska; and Russia. However, there are no convenient ports for taking on stores or supplies, and even government efforts to establish “port facilities” for support of their own vessels are extremely limited. Canada’s own establishment of a facility at Nanisivik on Baffin Island (the site of the abandoned Nansivik mine loading facility) remains rudimentary in scope and would only be available to Naval or Coast Guard vessels, even if well established in the future. Small vessel “harbours” exist, and during periods of active extraction, load and discharge, “ports” have existed at or near mine sites, but these have never seen development or use past the life of the associated mine, such as like that on Little Cornwallis.

The seasonal variations in the extent of sea ice for both Northern and Southern Hemispheres (1979 to 2002-3). Comparing this to the graph above, one can see the change occurring.

November 2012 BC Shipping News 31

arctic shipping Photo credit: Canadian Coast Guard

by traditional marine communications satellites stops well before the poles and radio communications can be negatively impacted by susceptibility to solar activity more prominently experienced at either pole. In some polar regions, radio coverage is highly “seasonal”, communications centres being opened during only the more traditional “shipping seasons”.

In the Arctic, the ability to affect actual rescue relies primarily on the presence of various government icebreakers...

The Henry Larsen, Canada’s newest icebreaker.

In the Arctic, the ability to affect actual rescue relies primarily on the presence of various government icebreakers that are assigned to the regions for summer operations. The United States has only one operational polar icebreaker at this time (though USCG has begun repositioning air assets to northern Alaskan operating areas in summer months to support SAR), Canada assigns up to five icebreakers to Arctic operations, and Russia operates several nuclear and conventional icebreakers. Denmark and Norway operate ice-strengthened naval vessels, but not heavy icebreakers. At any given time, any of these ships may be many hours or days away. Salvage capable tugs may be weeks away.

The challenge to shipping in the Polar Regions remains. The challenge

to operators to have the skills and knowledge required in addition to that normally accepted for operations elsewhere on the globe, the extremes of weather with presence of ice and the hazards it represents, the remote nature of these regions and the accompanying lack of infrastructure to shipping all combine to still make voyages into these areas fraught with risk and challenge.

Noting a lack of overall shipping industry knowledge with respect to the challenges of operating in the Arctic, and the increasing interest in pushing shipping into the ice-infested Polar Regions, The Nautical Institute embarked on two projects to fill the gap. The first was the publishing this past April of Polar Ship Operations — a

Proposed Canadian polar-class icebreaker.

32 BC Shipping News November 2012

Practical Guide which outlines the various challenges facing ship operations in these remote and challenging areas and serves as a primer on ship navigation and operation in the ice-infested waters of both poles.

The second was the commencement of the Ice Navigator Project, noting the absence of a global standard for and definition of Ice Navigator. This project has collated information from the varied regional and company standards for ice navigation, and combined reviews of the various ice navigation courses that exist via multi-user consultation with ship operators, ship owners, insurers, classification societies and others. With a gap analysis now complete, the Ice Navigator Project will present its draft Ice Navigator skills,

Photo credit: Canadian Coast Guard

arctic shipping knowledge and competency matrix those looking forward must be aware of for discussion at a half day seminar in the challenges that will face them for conjunction with the Arctic Shipping many years to come. Today, a voyage Forum North America in Montreal 31 into either Arctic or Antarctic waters October in Montreal. With an accept- remains a “come as you are” effort. One ance of the matrix, the intent will be must be prepared to deal with all emerto present these to IMO under The gencies and eventualities on their own.

Captain Duke Snider has amassed a Nautical Institute’s status as an NGO for adoption under STCW (Standards broad range of seagoing experience over for Training, Certification and the past 30 years in naval, commercial and Watchkeeping). Pending the adoption Canadian Coast Guard shipping, much of under STCW, The Nautical Institute it in the ice-covered waters of the Arctic, is prepared to champion adoption of Gulf of St.Lawrence and the Baltic. He the standard outside IMO as has been is presently the Regional Director Fleet done with Dynamic Position Officer Pacific for the Canadian Coast Guard, Standards. In the DP case, The Nautical serving in Victoria, B.C. Captain Snider was the lead author of Institute completed a similar multiuser consultation, gained broad band the Ice Navigator Standards developed acceptance for the standards and now for Transport Canada for submission to maintains these standards on behalf the IMO for inclusion in the Polar Code. of many flag states, accredits training He also assisted in the writing of an institutions and provides certification Arctic Passage Planning guideline that of DP officers to a global standard out- is now incorporated in the Canadian side the often more cumbersome IMO Coast Guard publication, Ice Navigation in Canadian Waters. He is the chair of change and ratification process.

SCA0016A BC Shipping News.pdf 1 of10/4/2012 2:54:23 PM There is Ada -future for expansion The Nautical Institute’s Ice Navigator shipping in the Polar Regions, but Working Group.

Captain Snider’s latest book, Polar Ship Operations — A Practical Guide, can be purchased through The Nautical Insitute’s website (www.nautinst.org) or through Nautical Mind Bookstore (www.nauticalmind.com).

November 2012 BC Shipping News 33

vessel procurement

Patience and partnerships key to success of NSPS

W

ith both Irving Shipbuilding and Vancouver Shipyards busy building their teams and upgrading their infrastructure, key words from both the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Coast Guard are “patience” and “partnership”.

Likening the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy to a seven-month-old baby, Rear-Admiral (RCN ret’d) Ian Mack, Director-General, Major Project Delivery (Land and Sea), Canadian Department of National Defence told attendees at last month’s Maritime Security Challenges conference that the program needed the chance to learn to crawl before walking and to walk before running.

In addressing the topic of naval shipbuilding in Canada, Mack began by stating that: “Peace isn’t exactly breaking out all over,” said. “Every future threat assessment that I’ve read in my career suggests that insecurity, unrest and chasing very rare resources means that, geo-strategically, this is what our future is about.” Mack argued that the prospect of greater world insecurity and uncertainty would require

Canada to maximize the availability of our naval systems while minimizing costs which he saw as being just as relevant to the increasing difficulties of recruiting and keeping crew as it was to the procurement of hardware.

In 2008, the government made capital available for the procurement of a Joint Supply Ship which, after some disappointing outcomes and some $50 million expended, saw the related procurement process terminated.

Images courtesy Ian Mack, Department of National Defence.

Before describing the process of NSPS and the current status of vessel procurement for the Navy, Mack led the group through a review of Canada’s shipbuilding efforts over the past 50 years, starting with the continuous build between the 1960s and 1990s before a cessation of federal procurement which led to a loss of much of our experience and capabilities in shipbuilding and relegated shipyards substantially to non-naval builds and naval ship repair, losing much of the infrastructure required for new and complex builds. In 2008, the government made capital available for the procurement of a Joint Supply Ship which, after some disappointing outcomes and some $50 million expended, saw the related procurement process terminated.

Concept drawings for the Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPS) — the design package was developed by BMT Fleet with a subcontract to STX. 34 BC Shipping News November 2012

Two designs are being considered for the Joint Supply Ship — top: the Berlin class; bottom: a Canadian design by BMT Fleet.

A decision is expected next year.

In reviewing the process of NSPS, Mack noted that key lessons were learned during the JSS exercise in 2008, including the essential need to “design to cost” and to do homework with potential implementers before setting the budget. The NSPS concept was developed within the Department of National Defence based on Navy and Canadian Coast Guard needs and with a primary intent to eliminate the boom and bust cycle of vessel procurement.

Key points that made the NSPS shipyard sourcing activity such a successful process included extensive consultation with industry and extensive use of third part independent experts to evaluate shipyards and ensure an open and fair bid process.

Within the NSPS, DND identified the need for three classes of ships: • Six to eight Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) — this relates to the current government’s election platform seven years ago. The challenge was to design the vessels with sea-keeping characteristics whether

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vessel procurement operating in the Atlantic, the Pacific or the Arctic. The design package was developed by BMT Fleet with a subcontract to STX. • Two Joint Support Ships (JSS) with an option for a third to recapitalize the Protecteur Class. Two design options are being considered — a Military Off The Shelf (MOTS) design, the German Berlin Class; or a new, Canadian design by BMT Fleet.

A decision is expected in 2013.

• Canadian Surface Combatant Project

(CSC) — intended to replace the capabilities of our three Iroquois destroyers and 12 Canadian Halifax Class frigates. Mack was optimistic that more about the CSC project would be forthcoming very soon (BC Shipping News was told directly by another source that an announcement was pending and that information would be posted on MERX, the government’s public tendering website — www.merx.com).

“We’ve got to be realistic,” said Mack.

Endurable Designs designs@ral.ca

CCGS Vladykov

Near Shore Fisheries Research Vessel

“There are no silver bullets and NSPS has challenges too. The NSPS baby was born seven months ago and as anyone with children will tell you, this baby needs to learn to crawl before she walks and then runs. She will not perform as an Olympian tomorrow so we must temper our expectations with patience and give the shipyards a chance to build teams and the physical infrastructure before performing with great precision and delivering those NSPS benefits. I would also remind that nothing in the NSPS, as much as it enables success, can resolve the skills short falls in Canada — government and industry — which will also take time and patience.”

Having already invested more than $100 million in improvements and additions to its facilities, people and infrastructure over the last five years, Irving Shipbuilding’s President Steve Durrell noted that “future plans for our facilities involve expanding the capacity of the yard, modernizing equipment and improving the efficiency of the flow of work through the yard so as to maximize the value we can proAuthorization vide to our customers, and ultimately to Canada. Our plans will continue to evolve as we work closely with Canada on their requirements.

We hope to be in Jim:________________ a position to break ground in the spring of 2013.”

Mike:_______________ Halifax Shipyard, Irving Shipbuilding’s

primary shipbuilding and repair facility, is in the middle of a $549 million conKen:________________ tract to conduct major refits on seven of the Royal Canadian Navy’s Frigates...

Rob:________________ Halifax Shipyard, Irving Shipbuilding’s primary shipbuilding and repair facility, is in the middle of a $549 million contract to conduct major refits on seven of the Royal Canadian Navy’s Frigates, expected to be complete in 2017. HMCS Montreal arrived at Halifax Shipyard on Wednesday, July 4, for a Mid Life Refit (MLR) under the Frigate Life Extension (FELEX) program, and also underway is a Mid Life Refit on HMCS Fredericton. Irving Shipbuilding completed the Mid Life Refit on HMCS 36 BC Shipping News November 2012

vessel procurement Halifax and she was transitioned back to the Canada this summer. Docking Work Periods (DWP) have also been completed on the following vessels under the FELEX program (repairs of smaller scope than MLR): HMCS St. John’s, HMCS Ville de Quebec and HMCS Toronto. HMCS Charlottetown is scheduled to arrive in April 2013.

Durrell further noted that: “We employ approximately 1,400 skilled, experienced shipbuilders, many of whom are busy on the program to build nine high-tech Hero-class Mid-Shore Patrol Vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard, a contract worth $194 million.

The 1st of class Mid-Shore Patrol Vessel, CCGS Private Robertson V.C., completed successful sea trials this summer and has been delivered to our customer. The 2nd of class ship, CCGS Caporal Kaeble V.C., was launched September 22 and is now undergoing finishing work as we prepare her for delivery by the end of the year. All Mid-shore Patrol vessels are contracted for completion in 2014.”

Michel Vermette, Deputy Commissioner, Vessel Procurement, echoed the message from Mack and furthered added that...success...would be based on collaboration and partnership On July 10, 2012, Minister Peter MacKay was at Halifax Shipyard to announce the signing of an Ancillary Contract, the pre-planning agreement to begin contract work in preparation for the Engineering (Definition) and Build (Implementation) Contracts for the first set of NSPS vessels, the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships. This $9M contract put a team of 30 to work on reviewing Canada’s AOPS design, developing an execution strategy, and doing a detailed cost-estimate on the Engineering phase of the program.

“The contract is an important step forward,” said Durrell. “It’s getting us closer to cutting steel, which puts good people to work and creates opportunities for businesses and suppliers. 2015 is the Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) published

date for construction to begin on the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS).

We are hopeful of expediting this date.”

In speaking on behalf of the Canadian Coast Guard, Michel Vermette, Deputy Commissioner, Vessel Procurement, echoed the message from Mack and furthered added that the success of the vessel procurement projects would be based on collaboration and partnership, both with industry and internally with other government departments: “Whether those partnerships are internal to government, like our partnership with Public Works and Government Services Canada or with suppliers – like STX Marine who designed our Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV) and are designing the Polar Icebraker, the CCGS John G. Diefenbaker, or even the long-term partnership that we’re establishing with Vancouver Shipyards, we’re not going to be successful unless we have those strong partnerships in place. We’re really excited by that kind of ability to build on strengths within the partnerships. We still at early days right now with Vancouver Shipyards — they’re building and changing their operations to meet our needs and what a wonderful opportunity for us under the NSPS to build our relationship.”

And while only two small contracts have so far been established with Vancouver Shipyards (for support work on the designs of the Polar Icebreaker and the science vessels), Vermette’s office has been busy with other projects that continue the plan to rebuild CCG’s fleet. Among these: • Vermette expects the delivery of a new Hovercraft from England in late 2013 to be put into service at the Sea Island Station on the West Coast.

• The federal government recently announced plans to replace CCG’s current fleet of aging helicopters.

“We had an Industry Day in early September which provided for some very productive discussion,” said Vermette. “There is no contract yet so the total value of the project is not established but at this point but we’re looking for up to 24 helicopters to replace our entire existing fleet.”

• The first of the projects under the Small Vessel Procurement budget has been confirmed to replace 10

Michelle Vermette, Deputy Commissioner, Vessel Procurement, Canadian Coast Guard.

Arun Class lifeboats, originally designed by the Royal National Lifeboat Institute in the U.K. “We’re in contract for design of those now,” said Vermette. “The designer is Robert Allan Ltd. and we’ve asked them to take the design from the RNLI and essentially Canadianize it.

We hope to finish the design by the end of this calendar year/early next year and then go out to RFP in late 2013.” Based on that timing, delivery for the first of the vessels is expected sometime around 2015.

• The third piece of NSPS, the repair and maintenance work (the first piece being the large builds and the second the smaller vessels), got under way at the beginning of October with the announcement from MP Rick Dykstra at the Upper Lakes yard in St. Catharines on the life extension of the CCGS Amundsen.

The project will start by the end of October. The first stage will include replacing five main engines and three ship service generators which were installed when she was built in 1979. (The CCGS Amundsen is the CCG icebreaker featured on the back of Canada’s new polymer $50 bill.)

• Under the main portion of the NSPS, the large builds, the first ships to be built for the CCG are the three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels and the Offshore Oceanographic November 2012 BC Shipping News 37

VESSEL PROCUREMENT Science Vessel. “Those will be the first ships coming out of Vancouver Shipyards for CCG and it’s all about making sure we take things in a measured way and we work with each other,” said Vermette.

• Vermette confirmed that STX Marine in Vancouver has already started on the design for the Polar Icebreaker, the contract for which was awarded in late 2011.

John Shaw, Vice President, Program Management at Seaspan Marine Corporation confirmed the expectation that construction would begin by late 2013: “We are working with both the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard to support the design of the future ships. The main focus has been on supporting the Coast Guard’s science vessels leading to construction in 2013. In addition, we have

also been providing support to the future Polar Icebreaker and the Joint Support Ship. These are both very large projects and an early involvement will assist the completion of designs.”

To get the yard ready for construction, Shaw noted that progress is being made. “We have recently unloaded 35,000 tonnes of gravel and placed it on the site of the future shipbuilding berth. The gravel acts as a preload on the soil to prepare for the construction of the slipways which will accommodate the loads of the future ships.

The gravel will be moved to other locations within the shipyards as we work through our preparations.”

Meanwhile, Victoria Shipyards remains busy — and will be so through to 2016 — on the Victoria In-Service Support Contract (VISSC) covering Canada’s four hunter-killer submarines, and the Halifax-class patrol Frigate Life Extension Program (FELEX).

FELEX work included HMCS Calgary coming in last June for a 12-month refit. The frigate is expected to be back in service in January 2013.

Built in Quebec and commissioned in 1995, the Calgary was in for Mid Life Refurbishment (MLR) upgrades and modifications to such things as its combat systems, radar and other electronics with Victoria Shipyards as a subcontractor for Lockheed Martin.

The submarine HMCS Victoria recently completed its refit at FMF Cape Breton in Victoria and is back at sea and HMCS Chicoutimi, located in the yard’s new submarine refit facility, will soon be ready for action again after a similar refit. Sister sub, HMCS Corner Brook is also occupying a refit shed at the yard.

The 1995-commissioned frigate HMCS Winnipeg has been in drydock since April for its FELEX work and should be in the yard until June 2013.

The supply ship HMCS Protecteur has also been in the yard since April 2012 for a nine-month refit and will occupy a spot in drydock with the Winnipeg until September. HMCS Vancouver will be in for similar work in mid-2013.

BCSN

38 BC Shipping News November 2012

MARITIME SECURITY

Discontent at Sea The illegal transport of migrants by ship

By Darryl Anderson, Managing Director Wave Point Consulting

T

he Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism announced that the legislation, Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act, had received Royal Assent on June 29, 2012. The backgrounder that accompanied his announcement specifically cited the large-scale arrival of illegal migrants smuggled by the maritime transport mode as undermining Canada’s security. The two most recent incidents on Canada’s West

Coast were mentioned as proof that the human smuggling networks are a large and growing concern for Canada. BC Shipping News readers will no doubt agree that migrant smuggling is an illegal and dangerous activity, placing those smuggled in jeopardy. Therefore, I thought it would be useful to review past incidents of human smuggling, international trends and recent federal government actions to help readers gage the adequacy of Canada’s recent efforts to address the problem.

Past incidents of migrant smuggling

The RCMP Canada-United States Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) Threat Assessment report suggests that both small-scale and mass migration incidents do occur in North America. A review of the media, UBC Library, scholarly archives, information from the RCMP web site and data provided by the Canadian Border Service

August 11, 2012, Victoria, B.C. — HMCS Whitehorse assists HMCS Winnipeg in escorting the Motor Vessel (MV) Sun Sea to a Canadian port on Vancouver Island. Photo credit: MCpl Angela Abbey, Canadian Forces Combat Camera.

November 2012 BC Shipping News 39

MARITIME SECURITY Vessel Name

Date

Location

Length of Journey

Total Migrants

Not reported

July 20 1999

North Vancouver Island

39 days

123

Not reported

Aug. 9 1999

Queen Charlotte Islands

59 days

140

Not reported

Aug. 30 1999

North Vancouver Island

30-35 days

190

Not reported

Sept. 9 1999

Nootka Sound

35 days

146

MV Ocean Lady

Oct. 17 2009

Intercepted off Vancouver Island

45 days

76

MV Sun Sea

Aug. 12 2010

Intercepted 12 nautical miles off Vancouver Island

90 days

492

Table 1 — migrant smuggling incidents on the West Coast of British Columbia.

Rather, the information in Table 1. suggests that there is some occasional exposure to actual migrant smuggling by ship within our territorial sea. While the average number of individuals is above those generated by the small-scale incidents occurring in California, only the MV Sun Sea incident in 2010 approaches a level that could be described as being a mass irregular migration incident.

over 180 instances in 2011. Typically, in such instances, between 12 and 18 individuals are involved in obtaining illegal entry into the U.S. Thus, it would appear that approximately 2,250 migrants per year in that portion of the United States would be arriving by sea by the means of a small vessel.

The Port of Los Angeles has also experienced small-scale incidents of migrant smuggling through the use of marine containers. In 2005, 32 Chinese nationals were found in two shipping containers in one incident and 17 individuals in another. In 2002, seven Chinese men were found inside a container at the Port of Long Beach and in 1999, 30 men arrived aboard two ships from Hong Kong.

Canada’s West Coast is not prone to small-scale incidents of migrant smuggling by the marine transport mode.

International trends and implications

Photo credit: MCpl Angela Abbey, Canadian Forces Combat Camera

Agency (CBSA) stated that Canada is a destination for the irregular movement of people by human smuggling groups using ships.

Information provided by the CBSA indicated that it was more common for large-scale arrivals to occur by boat rather than by air or by land.

Atlantic Canada examples include the 1986 boatload of Tamils who arrived in Newfoundland and the 47 Chinese nationals that were smuggled via four cruise ships on the East Coast in 2007.

The U.S. Pacific Coast has been the site for numerous smaller-scale incidents involving the use of panga boats to transport Mexican nationals and illegal drugs from Baja, California to the more isolated parts of the southern California coastline. In five counties between San Diego and Santa Barbara, U.S. immigration officials recorded

August 12, 2010, Victoria, British Columbia — Hundreds of passengers crowd the deck of the Motor Vessel (MV) Sun Sea after spotting the arrival of HMCS Winnipeg.

40 BC Shipping News November 2012

According to the United Nations, migrant smuggling is “the procurement, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a state party of which the person is not a national.” While it is possible to provide definitional certainty, the full extent of the problem is harder to determine. Nevertheless, CBSA spokesperson, Jennifer Bourque advised that the 2010 Canada-U.S. Border Threat Risk Assessment, jointly prepared by the CBSA and the RCMP along with their U.S. counterparts, estimated that international smuggling organizations around the globe move hundreds of thousands of people from lessdeveloped to industrialized countries.

The report found that people are smuggled from Asia, Africa, Central and South America and Eastern Europe to Western Europe, Australia, and North America either directly, or via circuitous routes. RCMP information indicates that in 2009, of the majority of individuals detained illegally entering Canada (either smuggled or as an illegal migrant) from the U.S. between ports

MARITIME SECURITY of entry, 842 were Canada-bound and 779 were U.S.-bound.

Human security analysts and commentators suggest that migration by sea is often the only option for economically disadvantaged migrants. UN research suggests that smuggling by sea represents only a small proportion of the migrant smuggling problem — but the inherent dangers to the migrants is a distinguishing feature. While the trend in the total number of deaths of smuggled migrants at sea is not known, UN researchers believe it to be increasing because, as immigration channels become more limited, more people turn to smugglers for assistance.

prosecution) of smugglers and the protection of migrants’ rights.

Before assessing the adequacy of the federal government’s actions to deal with maritime migrant smuggling, it is important to know that Canada is a signatory to the UN Migrant Smuggling Protocol (the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air), which came into force in 2004. As a signatory, Canada has an obligation to rescue and afford protection to irregular migrants even though it often conflicts with border protection and immigration policy concerns. These obligations stem from the International Law of the Sea and humanitarian grounds. The duty to rescue migrants at sea is paramount, taking priority over other concerns including law enforcement objectives, regardless of the fact that smugglers’ objectives may be advanced when rescuing authorities assume responsibility for migrants. The UN issue paper acknowledges that while the obligations to protect and assist persons rescued at sea are clear, how to uphold them in practice while also addressing migrant smuggling at sea is not. The challenge is to meet these obligations, without at the same time serving the objectives of migrant smugglers. To date, there has been little to no public

The duty to rescue migrants at sea is paramount...regardless of the fact that smugglers’ objectives may be advanced...

Current Canadian activities

The Canadian Border Service Agency plays a key role in preventing and detecting irregular migration and human smuggling ventures.

Information provided by the department indicates that their primary focus is on pushing the border out by identifying and dealing with threats as early as possible, even before they reach Canada.

Jennifer Bourque, CBSA spokesperson, stated that “the government of Canada is taking a multi-faceted

Photo by: Cpl Pier-Adam Turcotte

In 2011, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released the Smuggling of Migrants by Sea issue paper. It acknowledged the complexities and challenges associated with addressing the crime of migrant smuggling by sea. Some of these challenges are summarized below: • It is a competitive criminal business with high profits for smugglers but all the risks are borne by migrants.

• It cannot be separated from smuggling by land or air because of complex interconnections. There is mounting evidence that an effective response to smuggling by sea requires that the issues be addressed a considerable distance from the high-tide mark at locations (where land and air movements occur) in countries of origin and transit, and where smugglers organize sea smuggling.

• Detecting smuggling vessels at sea is a key challenge for coastal states.

• Coastal nations face a difficult time balancing border protection and respecting legal rights of migrants.

• International co-operation is essential to tackling the problem of smuggling migrants by sea. Efforts need to focus on the criminalization (and

suggestions on how to accomplish this

by Canadian policy decision makers.

In addition to actions by government, ship masters also have an obligation to rescue migrants in distress. Yet, one of the issues faced by the shipping community is the reluctance of ship masters to fulfill obligations to assist migrants in distress at sea. Thus, a key challenge for the international community is how to support ship masters to fulfill their obligations, while at the same time combating the smuggling which leads to the need for rescue in the first place. We will now look at Canada’s response capacity and recent changes to federal legislation to see how these policy instruments are aligned with our obligations.

October 17, 2009, off the coast of British Columbia — HMCS Regina escorts a 350-foot commercial vessel of interest, the Ocean Lady, to Ogden Point in response to a request for assistance from the RCMP. November 2012 BC Shipping News 41

MARITIME SECURITY

Darryl Anderson with Dr. Andreas Schloenhardt, Professor of Criminal Law, Director of International Relations, University fof Queensland, Australia. approach to detect and prevent human smugglers from departing for Canada through international co-operation and capacity building, investigating human smugglers and deterring human smuggling ventures.” Ms. Bourque indicated that the department works closely with their international and domestic partners; closely monitors irregular migration trends; and, with their network of liaison officers overseas, works with other countries to prevent irregular migration flows.

Thailand, for example, is one of Canada’s closest partners when it comes to combatting human smuggling.

Canada has also increased its international engagement with partners and allies overseas. For example, Canada has raised human smuggling in bilateral and multilateral discussions with governments throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Canada has also strengthened co-operation with transit countries.

This has involved capacity building, information exchange, and identifying practices that will deter future human smuggling operations. Thailand, for example, is one of Canada’s closest partners when it comes to combatting human smuggling. Thailand is not considered a source country for 42 BC Shipping News November 2012

illegal migrants, but has been used as a transit country by criminal human smuggling syndicates. Since late 2010, Thailand has co-operated closely with Canadian enforcement officials in disrupting several potential human smuggling ventures. These efforts build on an established track record of collaboration on the counter-terrorism front, where Thailand has shown itself to be a strong and reliable partner.

The CBSA also participates in international forums on human smuggling. However, none to date have been dedicated to the maritime mode.

Given Canada’s past experiences with migrant vessel arrivals, it is recognized as an area for further discussion.

The most recent forum was a migrant smuggling working group established in Vienna at the end of May 2012.

The CBSA also provides input into Government of Canada submissions for international conferences, such as a meeting of the Bali Process workshop on irregular migration hosted in Kuala Lumpur in June 2012. Migrant vessels and Canada’s approach to dealing with the problem were part of the discussion. More recently, the CBSA met with a Chinese delegation from the Guangdong Provincial Anti-Smuggling Office in September 2012.

Other Canadian government officials recognize their international obligations to deal with illegal migrant smuggling

by sea incidents. In Atlantic Canada the Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) Captain Steve Wilson was the lead exercise planner for Exercise Frontier Sentinel 12.

He spoke to BC Shipping News about a recent training event. Captain Wilson stated: “the main objective of the training scenario was to practice the activation of the regional migrant vessel plan and the different government departments’ roles and responsibilities, including the boarding of a vessel and the processing of 70 migrants”. The scenario was part of the annual Joint Task Force Atlantic, U.S. Fleet Forces, U.S. Coast Guard exercise that also involved federal and provincial government departments, hospital officials and non-governmental agencies such as the Red Cross. Captain Wilson commented that “some people may not realize that the RCN plays a supporting role in any migrant vessel operation”. This is because the Navy’s involvement must not only be requested by the lead law enforcement agency but also stems from the fact that the lead agency retains full responsibility for conducting any operation. Captain Wilson stressed the relevance of such collaborative exercises in terms of helping the RCN and respective agencies develop a better understanding of their inter-operability capabilities and resource requirements. He acknowledged that the situation on the Atlantic is somewhat different than the Pacific Coast but the insights gained from the training exercise will be available for naval planners. While the scale of this training scenario is perhaps a bit too small, based on the West Coast experience since 1999, it does suggest that at least on the Atlantic Coast government officials were not planning for a largescale irregular migration incident.

The main features of the new Canadian legislation Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act appears to be directed towards border protection and deterrence. For example, the Minister of Public Safety will now be able to designate the arrival of a group of persons into Canada as an “irregular arrival”, and make those involved over the age of 16 subject to the new legislation. The government claims that the new legislation will make it easier to prosecute human smugglers. The law

MARITIME SECURITY

to direct any vessel to remain outside

with an advance copy of the professor’s research findings so they could be shared with BC Shipping News readers.

Dr. Schloenhardt asserts that “after over a decade of scare campaigns about ‘floods of asylum seekers’, of attacks on so called queue-jumpers, of demonizing migrant smugglers, and drastic measures that turned around boats and detained thousands of genuine refugees on remote islands for months and years, Australia is left with a lot of empty rhetoric, criticism by the international community and human rights organizations, and with no clue about how to prevent the smuggling of migrants to its shores. The nexus, if any, between migrant smuggling and organized crime also remains poorly understood…If prosecutions are to have any impact on migrants smuggling ventures to Australia, the focus must shift from prosecuting those at the end of the chain to those higher up in the organizations who arrange for, and profit from, these ventures”.

Canadian waters; to proceed out of

Conclusions

was also amended to include new mandatory minimum prison sentences for convicted smugglers.

The government also amended the Marine Transportation Security Act (MTSA). Under the pre-existing MTSA, certain types and sizes of vessels bound for Canada had to file prearrival information at a specific time before entering Canadian waters. The amended MTSA now includes increased penalties for failing to provide prearrival information, failing to comply with ministerial direction, providing false or misleading information and for repeat offenders (individuals and corporations). These types of policy measures seem to be influenced by the type of incidents on the Canada’s West Coast.

...the MTSA currently provides the Minister of Transport with the authority

Canada; or to proceed to any place as specified by the Minister...

When announcing the recent changes, the federal government reminded those in the shipping community that the MTSA currently provides the Minister of Transport with the authority to direct any vessel to remain outside Canadian waters; to proceed out of Canada; or to proceed to any place as specified by the Minister when there are reasonable grounds to believe the vessel may pose a security threat. Some observers have suggested that the new federal approach is modelled after the policy response of the Australian government. To the extent this is true, then the insights of Dr. Andreas Schloenhardt, Professor of Criminal Law, Director of International Relations (University of Queensland Australia) are timely. He made a presentation at the Maritime Security Challenges 2012 conference held in Victoria, B.C. in early October. Professor Schloenhardt’s topic was “Migrant Smuggling: An Australian Perspective”. I was provided

While Canadian exporters may lament the relatively long distance from Canada to international markets, it does appear that on the Pacific Coast our distance from the world’s major populations centres does impact the scale of the illegal migrant-by-sea problem we actually face.

To the extent that the recent changes to Canadian legislation create a disincentive for those who organize maritime migrant smuggling activities there would seem to be some justification for a revised approach. Experience from past incidents would seem to support the CBSA’s contention that largerscale arrivals of irregular migrants does make it difficult to properly investigate whether those who arrive pose a risk to Canada. Yet there is ample reason to be discontent, or even question certain aspects of Canada’s current policy approach.

Based on the available evidence, Canada may indeed face a periodic problem of large-scale irregular migrants arriving by sea but it does not appear to face a tsunami of illegal migrants arriving by ship. Data secrecy makes it hard to determine if any RCMP and CBSA

pro-active efforts have been effective in preventing further maritime incidents from happening at the overseas point of departure. Thus, it is difficult to accept at face value the assertion made by the Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism that the largescale arrival of illegal migrants smuggled by the maritime transport mode is undermining Canada’s security. In addition, notably absent from any of the new policy announcements was any discussion or steps that Canada was undertaking to fulfill our international obligations to rescue and afford protection to irregular migrants at sea, or provide practical guidance to support ship masters to fulfill their obligations when faced with such a difficult situation.

...Canadian policies should be based on facts and not on a fear that we could be overcome by a wave of illegal migrants driven by economic and/or political discontent...

I believe that Canadian policies should be based on facts and not on a fear that we could be overcome by a wave of illegal migrants driven by economic and/or political discontent that caused some of them to flee by ship in the first place.

Balancing the rights of Canada’s need for border protection with the human rights of migrants arriving by ship is not without its very real and practical challenges. Yet the Komagata Maru incident of the early 20th Century serves to remind us what can happen when Canada fails to adequately debate such issues. As a trade-dependent nation, it is perhaps incumbent on those in the maritime transport sector to provide a more global and nuanced perspective to help shape and inform our domestic policy decisions.

Darryl Anderson is a Victoria-based consultant. He maintains an active independent research practice focusing exclusively on maritime transportation and policy issues (www.wavepointconsulting.ca).

Special thanks to Tracy Byrne of InsideOut Policy Research for the fact checking work required for this article.

November 2012 BC Shipping News 43

RCMP history

Book review

The History of the RCMP Marine Services by Kenneth John Haycock

By K. Joseph Spears

C

anada’s West Coast has a rich and colourful history.

With a remote coastline which has seen its share of domestic and international-based illegal activity — narcotics and migrant smuggling being just two that come to mind — the RCMP has been the federal law enforcement agency for both federal and contract policing in British Columbia. Federal policing duties include counter-terrorism, national security and customs enforcement to name a few.

The RCMP has a longstanding relationship of supporting other federal enforcement agencies such as Transport Canada Marine Safety and Security. The RCMP’s blue hulled vessels are a common and welcome sight up and down the coast acting as a floating detachment. Most mariners don’t realize that RCMP Marine Services, operating under a variety of names, has been very active in West Coast waters and had a long history of maritime law enforcement and even search and rescue duties prior to the creation of the Canadian Coast Guard in 1962. The book, The History of the RCMP Marine Services by the late Kenneth John Haycock, is a must-read for students of Canada’s ocean management.

Haycock’s book is a welcome addition to the discussion about managing marine security on the West Coast in a post 9/11 world. It is important to understand in the present context that these are not new issues and the RCMP has been active at sea for a long time. This handsome coffee table book details this fascinating marine history, including the littleknown fact that the RCMP provided the primary maritime federal presence on the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Great Lakes including inland waters throughout much of Canada’s history. The book provides a summary of the over 200 vessels operated by the RCMP with accompanying photographs.

Five chapters set out the history of RCMP Marine Services in each of its organizational formats, providing insight into a changing Canada.

Most Canadians are familiar with the RCMP patrol vessel St. Roch which transited the NorthWest Passage both east and west during the Second World War. Despite being 44 BC Shipping News November 2012

a routine patrol, it is a part of the rich fabric of Canada’s Arctic history. The final chapter of The History of the RCMP Marine Services details the “Voyage of Discovery” supported by the Vancouver Maritime Museum and undertaken by the RCMP vessel St. Roch II, (Nadon), a light aluminum patrol vessel which transitted the NorthWest Passage in 2000. It was commanded by (now) Inspector Ken Burton.

Many of the RCMP vessels were sea-going armed vessels and had large dedicated RCMP Marine Division crews operating under a complex jurisdictional mandate. While Haycock was referring to the 1930s, it is familiar to the present discussion on marine security. The creation of this book grew out of the fact that Constable Haycock, a RCMP West Coast Marine Services member learned that there was very little on record and no complete history of RCMP marine operations. He set out to do something about it.

Constable Haycock started this project in 2005 and while battling a lengthy illness. The work was edited by noted B.C. marine author Peter Vassilopoulos. Published following Constable Haycock’s death, the book is dedicated to the

RCMP history author’s unfailing interest in the rich marine fabric that forms part of the RCMP’s mandate. The author was officially commended for this outstanding work by Newfoundlander and E Division Assistant Commissioner Gary Bass.

The book has rich visuals and sidebars and details all of the 200 vessels operated both in peace and wartime by the RCMP. It traces the evolution of the RCMP marine operations which formed its own Marine Section on April 1, 1932, and absorbed all the duties of the Department of Revenue Preventative Service. The RCMP was very active during prohibition on all the coasts of Canada and is credited with the seizure of one of the vessels operated by Al Capone, the Texada.

The writer then takes the reader through the various Marine section structures to its present evolution with the operation of a number of state-of-the-art vessels working in conjunction with other government departments to ensure safety and

Constable Kenneth John Haycock on patrol. security in all Canadian waters. What becomes very clear after reading this book, is that the challenge of marine law enforcement on Canada’s West Coast is not a new issue.

This book is a must-have for the library of any student of West Coast

marine history. It is also an essential read to understand the present discussion and debate on the pressing issues of marine security and maritime enforcement in Canada. What the book makes very clear is that Canada’s RCMP is very comfortable at sea and in the Arctic.

We owe a debt of gratitude for Constable Haycock’s work on this important piece that records this little known element of Canada’s ocean management. May he rest in peace.

The History of the RCMP Marine Services is published by Pacific Marine Publishing for $59.95 and can be purchased through www.marineguides. com or www.amazon.ca.

Joe’s late mother Joan Neatt worked with the RCMP Marine Division in HMC Dockyard Halifax from 1955-60.

He has acted as outside legal counsel to the Attorney General of Canada on RCMPatrol vessels in support of joint enforcement operations. Joe is Counsel with Straith Litigation Chambers and can be reached at kjs@oceanlawcanada.com.

November 2012 BC Shipping News 45

international shipping

Angeliki Frangou and the Navios Group

By Syd Heal

O

ne of the most interesting names in the worldwide community of Greek ship-owning interests is that of Angeliki Frangou and the four owning companies which make up the Navios Group. It is notable as the largest ship-owning group controlled by any Greek today, with a combined fleet of over 100 large bulk carriers and tankers all managed from Athens, a tug and barge fleet and small regional tankers, home-based in Uruguay. Few fly the Greek flag and all ships are registered under the usual offshore flags. Even more notable is the fact that the CEO across the entire group is a woman who has built it up in her own image from a vastly smaller fleet of bulkers when acquired from Canadian-American owners in 2001 before she took it public in 2005 with a Marshall Islands incorporation and subsequently has expanded it into one of the world’s largest shipping businesses.

Angeliki Frangou’s education has been impeccable in the Greek tradition.

Her father, Nicholaos Frangos, was and still is, a private ship owner in Greece as is her brother John. Greek children born into ship-owning families tend to be brought up from the beginning with shipping as part of their regular diet. To make sure she had the makings of a shipping tycoon she gained a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Columbia University followed 46 BC Shipping News November 2012

by an MBA in finance and international business from New York University.

Following graduation she worked for the Republic Bank of the U.S. as an analyst which would later lead to the chairmanship of Proton Bank of Greece.

With a well-established background in banking, shipping and engineering, Ms. Frangou commenced her own career as a ship owner evidently quite separate...from her ship-owning family.

With a well-established background in banking, shipping and engineering, Ms. Frangou commenced her own career as a ship owner evidently quite separate and distinct from her shipowning family. In 1990 she became CEO of Franser Shipping, a private company, and ran it until 2001 which was the year that she took over Navios, a company with an interesting history that goes back to before the First World War. Established in 1910 as a British subsidiary of United States Steel, Isthmian S.S. Co. was one of a number of U.S. companies that used the cheaper British flag to meet its international shipping needs. Attractions included a big pool of well-trained officers to draw upon and London was the world centre for most shipping services such as key

management, financing, chartering and insurance. When war came in 1914, the British merchant fleet came under the control of the U.K. government and the Isthmian fleet was repatriated to the U.S. flag with American management taking over.

From then on, it operated liner services to world markets with the emphasis on those countries where U.S. steel products were a regular import.

Isthmian lasted until around the end of the break bulk cargo liner era, which was in the early 1960s. Bulk carriers and container ships quickly became a big part of the shipping scene and increases in both numbers and size were very rapid as the cargo liner fleets were either scrapped or dispersed to secondary carriers under offshore flags to work at most for a few years in the tramp trades for which they were generally unsuitable. For a period in the 1960s it was not uncommon to see a discarded cargo liner of sophisticated design at Vancouver loading scrap or sulphur on the final leg in a trip to a far eastern scrapyard.

U.S. Steel, like all owners of cargo liners, was faced with an uncomfortable change in their mode of operation.

It was a matter of embracing the new trends in shipping or going out of business and a lot of them from a wide variety of maritime countries chose the latter course and quickly retired after selling off their prematurely redundant

international shipping

ships. U.S. Steel decided to abandon the U.S. flag as subsidies for the new form of shipping enterprise under offshore flags, became unavailable and as a result Isthmian was closed down and Navios set up as an offshore flagged subsidiary with an expanding fleet of small geared bulkers of the type that was becoming popular 50 years ago.

By the 1990s, U.S. Steel’s business was changing rapidly as many of its former customers had set up as steel producers and the trade channels for iron ore and finished steel products had changed on a global basis. Importers had become exporters and indeed the United States had become an importer of finished steel on a big scale. The need for a

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Ms. Angeliki Frangou, CEO of the Navios Group.

captive shipping company had weakened to the point that U.S. Steel was in the market to dispose of Navios and it was purchased by Lawrence G. Pathy of Fednav and Sean Day, the present day chair of Teekay Corporation. It is believed they held it for about two years until the Navios fleet was sold to Angeliki Frangou in 2001.

In 2004, International Shipping Enterprises Inc (ISE), was formed by Ms. Frangou as a ‘blank cheque’ company, a device used in the U.S. to provide a full exchequer when shopping for a company to be acquired. It is a facility that will only ever be afforded by the financial market to promoters who have the confidence of the market together with a strong track record and a real plan for a successful launch. The money raised is held in trust and the promoter has a specified time to successfully produce, otherwise the money is returned to the backers. ISE became Navios Maritime Holdings in 2005 and was floated as a Marshall Islands company.

Building up of the new group moved ahead rapidly. Navios Maritime Partners, a limited partnership was spun off as a high grade investment vehicle in 2007. The Partnership fleet is managed by Holdings and all its vessels are acquired from Holdings with attached choice long-term time charters.

Navios Maritime Partners was among the top four best managed international shipping companies for 2011 awarded this year by the highly respected Marine Money magazine which is read by ship owners, marine financiers and others with a structural interest in the industry.

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November 2012 BC Shipping News 47

international shipping In 2009, a second spin off took place when Navios Maritime Acquisitions Corp., once again used the ‘blank cheque’ route. This time Ms. Frangou went shopping for a fleet of tankers assembled from owners who were in distress in a market where existing tanker operators were overflowing with red ink and where some were going to the wall. Her first deal involved the acquisition of 13 new product tankers — some in the water and some in the construction stage — followed by the purchase of seven VLCCs. Additional vessels have since been acquired so that

There have, no doubt, been many who have questioned the wisdom of going into the troubled tanker business, but...

Ms. Frangou saw opportunity...

to be transferred into today’s large bulk carriers. The SA Logistics fleet, 273 barges, are handled by 22 push-pull tugs in rafts of up to about 16 barges and they can come from or go to a host of river ports within the Hidrovia region.

When ocean ships were smaller and in the 10,000-ton range many of these ports were available, but the increasing size of ships have altered the whole logistical process out of all recognition.

Ms. Frangou’s management style has brought herself and her group many accolades, including Marine Money’s Dealmaker of the Year award...

The second and smaller terminal is at San Antonio, Paraguay. One of its most important functions is as a distribution point for petroleum product supplied by the fleet’s river tankers and LNG barges. The final fleet consists of six tankers between 9,000 and 16,800 tons which operate on coastal routes within the Hidrovia countries under cabotage rules.

Ms. Frangou’s management style has brought herself and her group many accolades, including Marine Money’s Dealmaker of the Year award as well as a brace of shipping industry directorships. Her forays into the world of finance have become legendary.

Syd Heal, a veteran of the marine industry and a prolific writer and publisher of marine books, can be contacted at: richbook@shaw.ca.

Photos credit: Don Brown.

today the Acquisitions fleet stands at 29 vessels. There have, no doubt, been many who have questioned the wisdom of going into the troubled tanker business, but it seems that Ms. Frangou saw opportunity to take a long view at the expense of the weaker competition. As the third public company in the group available to investors, it made a relatively small loss of about $1.2 million in its last completed financial year, but this has been well offset by a strong performance from the parent Holdings and the Partnership companies.

The entire fleets of bulkers are made up of Ultra Handymax, Panamax and Cape-size ships. The only exceptions

are two smaller Handymaxes, one in each fleet. Holding has 54 owned vessels and chartered in, including four new builds; and Partners owns 19 ships plus two chartered in for a total of 75 bulkers. The vessel count for the Acquisitions company stands at a fleet of 16 vessels in the water and 13 new builds with several due for delivery in the fourth quarter of this year.

The final piece of the Navios jigsaw puzzle is Navios South American Logistics Inc., a private company that is a subsidiary of Navios Maritime Holdings. Originally acquired from local Uruguayan interests and now operated as a major terminal operator serving the needs of the Hidrovia region. Hidrovia is a concept somewhat similar to the Cascadia region of the North West American region in which British Columbia is a part. Hidrovia has gone well beyond the idea stage, being basically those parts of the countries with access to the Plate basin and the Parana, Paraguay and Uruguay rivers and an economic reason for benefitting from it. For instance, the region remains as one the world’s bread baskets for wheat and a prime meat exporter as well as an importer of a great many commodities and supplies including petroleum products with the five countries of Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil and Uruguay being wholly or partially dependent on it.

Navios, through SA Logistics, controls two terminals in the Hidrovia region. The bigger one is at Nueva Palmira to which its large fleet of river barges deliver produce from the region

Panamax-sized Navios Orbiter.

48 BC Shipping News November 2012

Super Handymax-sized Navios Mercator.

legal affairs For Port of Vancouver Vessel Registry Services, please call Ottawa Federal government cutbacks eliminate gem of public service and efficiency

By Mark Tinmouth A Vancouver lawyer with Bernard & Partners

H

idden away on the fourth floor of the federal government building at the corner of Burrard and Robson Streets in Vancouver is that rarest of jewels: a government office run with speed, efficiency and a focus on customer service.

I am speaking of the Vancouver office of Transport Canada’s Registry of Vessels. However, in the near future, all the services run out of this office will be relocated to Ottawa. The shipping industry, and the lawyers who service that industry, have come to depend on the efficiency of the Vessel Registrars to conduct their business in an effective and timely manner.

To save money and cut down the number of salaries it must pay, Ottawa is cutting the number of Vessel Registrars in the country from 17 to nine. The nine regional offices will be shut down and only a centralized office in Ottawa will remain open. In fact, the office in St John’s, Nfld was the first one to go and was closed on August 31, 2012.

The process of centralizing the offices will be complete by April 1, 2013.

However, British Columbia will get its first taste of Ottawa efficiency when the Victoria office closes on November 1, 2012. The Vancouver office will follow two months later when it closes its doors on January 1, 2013.

The regional offices are staffed by Vessel Registrars: individuals versed in the intricacies of the registration requirements demanded in the Canada

Shipping Act. Three Vessel Registrars work in the Vancouver office; the depth of their knowledge and the speed with which they can take intricate procedural questions and provide a concrete and simple plan of action is truly humbling.

The decision to centralize the Vessel registry system will slow down business and impact on the efficiency and certainty with which a vessel can be transferred...

The decision to centralize the Vessel registry system will slow down business and impact on the efficiency and certainty with which a vessel can be transferred, registered or encumbered by way of a mortgage. In order to explain this fully, allow me to take you through the steps required of a standard, and relatively simple transfer of a registered vessel from one person to another.

Step One: Obtain Background Information. An individual who wishes to purchase a vessel comes into the offices of Bernard & Partners and says that they wish to purchase a vessel. To determine if there are any mortgages listed against the vessel, a Vessel Transcript is ordered. Turnaround time from request to receipt of transcript: two to 24 hours, depending on the urgency.

Step Two: Draft up Documents.

Actually, this part has nothing to do with the registry. Here is where the lawyers draft up documents and quibble over small details. Turnaround time: two days to 12 months: depending on the lawyers or their clients.

Step Three: Register the Transfer.

The lawyer for the purchaser gives the change of ownership documents to the Vessel Registry. The Registry registers the transfer. At this point in time, the Vessel is officially registered in the name of the Purchaser. Turnaround time: one to two days.

Step 4: Discharging and Registering Mortgages: Now, this step requires some explaining. When there are two lawyers on a file, one for the purchaser and one for the buyer, a vessel purchase will often close ‘on undertakings’. What this means is that when the vessel is transferred to the new owner, the mortgage of the vendor is still on the vessel. However, the lawyer for the vendor has ‘undertaken’ to discharge the mortgage once funds are received (this is often because the funds are necessary to meet the balance of a mortgage). Underlying the undertakings, and what makes them effective, is that they are based on the barrister’s oath as an officer of the Court and an upholder of the Laws of Canada. Once the funds transfer and the vendor removes the mortgage, the purchaser’s mortgage will then be registered on the vessel. Turnaround November 2012 BC Shipping News 49

LEGAL AFFAIRS time for the Registry to discharge and register mortgages: a half to one day.

If necessary, these timelines can be shortened considerably by the Vessel Registrars where particular urgency is required. In fact, the fastest registration of a vessel transfer, including mortgage discharges and registrations I have ever been a part of was two hours start to finish.

If you compare this to the Service Standards established by Transport Canada, the level of service provided by the Vessel Registrars is even more astounding. Transport Canada says that a Transfer of Ownership should be completed within 15 working days, registration or discharge of a mortgage within five working days, and a transcript within two working days. It is quite apparent therefore, that the level of service being provided by the Vessel Registrars is exceptional, and exceptionally fast.

A large part of what makes the current Vessel Registries so efficient is that each has a service window at which an individual can make their requests

The Shape of dventure.

The Shape of dventure.

50 BC Shipping News November 2012

in person. If you don’t live in a town with a Registry, you can have an agent appear for you. The Ottawa office to which the Registries are being centralized has no service counter, and at the present time, there is no plan to have one. As each area loses their individual offices, they will have to deliver their documents to Ottawa by mail or courier. This will add time to the process of vessel registration and vessel transfers.

Each Vessel Registrar has a direct phone number. In Vancouver, there are three Vessel Registrars, the direct line for each of them is listed on Transport Canada’s website. Questions are answered quickly and courteously.

This system will be changed to automated call in lines. In my research for this article, I called the one listed on the Transport Canada website. There was an option to leave a message and someone would return my call within two business days. There was no option to speak directly to a Vessel Registrar.

The Service Standards under the new centralized system remain a question mark. Currently, all those people who

used to receive registry services from the St. John’s office in Newfoundland are unwitting test subjects in an experiment to see how the new system will work. I have been informed by the Chief Registrar that the Service Standards mentioned above will be strived for, but they are under review.

In essence, unless new systems are put in place, the Federal Government has made a decision that is going to severely hamper the business efficiency of certain portions of the shipping industry.

Returning to the four-step process we used earlier, the timeline for a vessel transfer might soon look like this: Step 1: Obtain Background Information: Courier to and from Ottawa plus two days to obtain a Vessel Transcript. Total turnaround time: up to four days.

Step 2: Draft up Documents: Unchanged.

Step 3: Register the Transfer: Courier to and from Ottawa, plus 15 days for Registration of transfer. Total turnaround time: up to 17 days.

Step 4: Discharging and Registering Mortgages: Courier to and from Ottawa plus five days to register a discharge or a registration. Total turnaround time (dependent on whether they will do discharge and registration simultaneous): seven to 12 days.

It remains to be seen what the banks will do with regard to mortgages, and whether they are going to be willing to finance a prospective purchaser for up to 17 days with no security for their loans (ie. no registered mortgage on the vessel). Even closing a purchase on ‘undertakings’ will probably not be enough to ease the worries and fears of the banks enough that they will lend a purchaser money for the purchase. It is a troubling aspect of the new system that remains to be worked out and may very well be the subject of an upcoming article in this space.

The decision to centralize the Vessel Registry, however, has been made. For better or worse, if you want service for the Port of Vancouver, you will have to call Ottawa — and then wait up to two days for some help.

Mark Tinmouth is an associate and maritime lawyer with Bernard & Partners and can be reached at tinmouth@bernardpartners.com.

events CFOA Conference: Highest attendance yet

W

ith over 200 attendees and a sold-out trade show, the Canadian Ferry Operators Association Conference was a huge success. Executive Director Anthonie de Hoog was quick to recognize local organizers from BC Ferries — Frank Camaraire, Captain Andy Patterson, Cori Foster, Katie Clegg, Jess Rai, Sandy Leduc, Stewart Leslie-Young and Tanya Duthie — for their efforts.

Speakers provided relevant and interesting perspectives on a range of topics — everything from the economics of the ferry business to passenger comfort to viable fuel options for passenger vessels. Attendees also received an update from Donald Roussel, Director General, Transport Canada Marine Safety and Security who welcomed the group’s input into the development of regulations for LNG-fuelled vessels (and at the same time, provided the best line of the conference): “Without your input,” said Roussel, “I will be like a surgeon with an axe.”

More photos online at www.bcshippingnews.com!

Maritime Security Challenges: Threats are still real

A

ttendees at the Maritime Security Challenges Conference, held in Victoria, B.C. at the beginning of October, were provided an excellent forum for discussion and debate as panel sessions dealt with security threats from a number of sources. Dealing with such subjects as the illegal movement of people and illicit cargoes at sea; developments in aircraft carriers; security issues in the Gulf of Guinea; and shipbuilding and future naval requirements, one of the most enlightening sessions was the “audience poll” on perceived threats. Over 60 per cent of the audience thought that security in the Asia-Pacific region was worsening — reasons cited included the increase in militarization. The audience was evenly split between better, worse and the same when it came to the question of global maritime security trends.

Dr. Allan Cahoon, President of Royal Roads University, did a commendable job as Chair of the conference.

More photos online at www.bcshippingnews.com!

November 2012 BC Shipping News 51

technology

Consilium products highlighted at technical workshop

S

tartech Marine Services, the Canadian representative for Consilium, hosted a half-day technical workshop in Vancouver earlier this year to provide a detailed look at Consilium products. Consilium is a Swedish company that has been in the marine navigation and safety business for 100 years and manufactures fire detection, gas detection, emission monitoring and navigational equipment. Their market share for fire and gas detection systems alone amounts to 50 per cent of global sales in that product group.

Established in 1912, Consilium developed the first speed log which was then used by the Royal Swedish Navy destroyer, HMS Hugin. From this small beginning, Consilium has, over the past 100 years, been at the leading edge of the technological development of safety, navigation and environmental systems. Throughout the 1900s, Consilium built on the success of its first speed log, designing and manufacturing first, gas and fire detection systems followed by marine navigation radars and engine room detection systems and, most recently, systems for anti-piracy radar and ice navigation.

The company now has a global network of 37 offices in over 50 countries and with 600 employees.

The workshop consisted of four segments covering each of the product areas Consilium offers.

ECDIS and radar With the continuing implementation of mandatory ECDIS regulations over the next six years, Consilium has developed two solutions for vessels.

The first, a simple, out-of-the-box solution; and a second, dual ECDIS system with additional features — many of them “firsts” in maritime electronics.

The Consilium ECDIS provides for a complete navigational situation on one display, eliminating the need to reference multiple sources for charts, navigational sensors, radar and automatic radar plotting aids (ARPA). The system 52 BC Shipping News November 2012

complies with SOLAS back-up requirements and incorporates a number of features, including: • Route creation by latitude/longitude co-ordinates, cursor, import or download from DGPS as well as multi-route management and route simulation.

• Passage plans can be prepared, stored and printed.

• A navigation data recorder stores all navigation events and is written to a new and secure read-only file every 24 hours.

• A number of alarms including, antigrounding alert, approach of critical points, radar ARPA/AIS targets, sensor failures (GPS, etc.), userdefined alarms and even a userdefined anchor alarm.

• Integrated NAVTEX information with automatic reading and processing of messages arriving via NAVTEX and automatic extraction of coordinates, area transmitting station and other parameters which are then plotted on the Consilium ECDIS chart display.

• Weather forecasts.

• Monitoring of pressure, wind speed and direction and significant wave heights.

• Full details of all ports and terminals plus maritime atlas and distance tables.

• Search and rescue patterns / routes.

• Tide and current predictions.

• A flexible software tool to link the Consilium ECDIS to external sensors.

• Network and data sharing abilities among numerous workstations.

Among the solutions for radar, Consilium Selesmar has recently introduced a new series of improved X-band radars — the Selesmar Selux ST products provide for a range of benefits, including improved detection and resolution of small targets even in heavy sea or rain clutter. While suitable for all vessels — even high speed craft — the Selesmar Selux ST is especially advantageous for use in Arctic waters where its environmentally adapted outdoor equipment provides for the ability to capture lower reflection echoes from the ice as well as the possibility to detect small objects over ice.

Consilium has also developed an integrated Oil Spill Detection (OSD) function into their standard type approved IMO/Solas Navigational radar. The OSD’s main purpose is to determine the maximum concentration of oil inside an oil slick which can be easily interfaced to all onboard radar sensors. In addition, the OSD provides for the ability to assess the oil spill’s position, speed and direction and automatically detects and calculates the oil spot contour and area.

Left to right: Nas Monavari, President, Startech Marine; Patrick Olander, President, Consilium; Peter Munro, Vice President Sales, Startech Marine; and Andrea Isolani, Deputy Sales Manager, Consilium Sweden.

technology Voyage data recorders (VDRs) and logs Startech Marine and Consilium reps reviewed a number of products in this category, including the SAL Speed Log which was first developed and installed in 1913. With almost 100 years of refining and incorporating the latest technology into the SAL Speed Log, Consilium uses a unique Acoustic Correlation principle rather than the typical Doppler principle used in other logs. Where Doppler logs use a narrow beam which transmits at an angle toward the seabed, the Acoustic Correlation uses a wide beam which transmits vertically towards the bottom. Three different systems, ranging from a one-axis relative speed log to a combined speed log and echo sounder in one housing unit, are available to allow for options regardless of vessel type.

Consilium’s VDRs has been designed to be compatible with all navigation equipment and provides for a low lifecycle cost and easy updates by crew.

The software provides for the latest technology for solid non-interruptible hardware and full control on a Linux platform.

Detection systems Consilium manufactures a number of fire and gas detection systems which are currently used in vessel-types of all sizes — cruise, cargo, tankers and naval vessels. The systems, sold under the Salwico brand, are loop-based with full redundant communication and a unique modular design that makes it easy to interface with external components. The Salwico fire detection system, which started with a basic system developed in 1983, has been continually updated and is now on a fifth generation system which connects to all sensors on a ship. The gas detection system uses the same interface as the fire system and can detect a wide range of gases and can be customized depending on the vessel’s needs.

Consilium’s Salwico also manufactures an Ambient Oil Mist Detector, developed for monitoring pump rooms, engine and motor rooms and can be attached onto boilers or diesel engines.

With a “line-of-sight” opacity meter for machinery spaces, the Salwico system

provides for early warning of oil mist over a large area. It also detects smoke and steam and has a very easy-to-read detector alarm.

Emission monitoring Referencing the upcoming Tier III regulations, Consilium representatives noted that the benefits of the Salwico Opacity Meter and Emission Monitoring system has already been installed on over 1,000 vessels of all types in the past year alone. The patented technology uses an infrared LED that is placed in the monitor cabinet and the light beam is brought to the smoke stack via optic fibres. The Dual Optical Absorption Spectroscopy has resolved issues relating to vibrations in and around smoke stacks. The systems are currently being used by a number of cruise lines (including Norwegian Cruise Lines onboard the Norwegian Gem and Canadian Steamship Lines in the Great Lakes as part of their fleet averaging strategy to meet emission regulations).

Consilium also introduced the new product “Icomera” High Speed Internet Gateway X6 during the seminar. This router is an industrial class communication hub designed for demanding transport solutions and applications. It provides a stable and high-performing Internet connection by aggregating up to six cellular

The Icomera High Speed Internet Gateway X6.

Wan Radios and is able to put together the speed from different communications available onboard. It can provide ships’ crews with high internet, VOIP and data services during vessel stays at anchorage or alongside at a fraction of the cost of satellite communication.

Overall, the technical workshop, organized and hosted by Startech Marine Services, provided great insight into current technologies available on the market to address a wide range of vessel needs. As the local representative for Consilium, Startech’s President, Nas Monavari, noted that a great deal of interest was being seen from the industry on all products especially given the recent implementation of the Emission Control Area and the need to ensure compliance with emissions.

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November 2012 BC Shipping News 53

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54 BC Shipping News November 2012

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