GHY Tradelines

(Julia Kuzeljevich – CT&L)

The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) said it was delighted with a Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) decision authorizing the passage of vessels up to 44 metres wide in the Quebec-Montreal section of the St. Lawrence navigation channel. The previous authorized width was 32.1 metres without restrictions.

The CCG has made the provisions following a study commissioned by the MPA and conducted jointly with Transport Canada, the CCG, the Laurentian Pilotage Authority and the Corporation of Central St. Lawrence Pilots. Read more here.
 

(BBC News)

About 450 workers agreed to a pay increase of 9.8%, after initially demanding a hike of more than 20%.

Cargo was delayed at the terminal resulting in a backlog of thousands of containers.

The container terminal is controlled by Hong Kong billionaire, and Asia’s richest man, Li Ka-shing.

Union leaders said the deal was a success, as the pay rise was for all workers, not just those who went on strike, and also addressed complaints about working conditions at the port. Read more here.
 

(Eryn Brown – LAT)

When giant container ships sail into major ports like Los Angeles and Long Beach, it’s not just clothing and cars that they deliver. They also carry critters.

The specimens — microscopic algae cells or larger castaways, such as eggs of fish or crustaceans — float about in the thousands of tons of water the boats use as ballast. When the ships dump their ballast at port, the species can establish a foothold in foreign lands, often with detrimental consequences to native wildlife.

But soon ports may be able to mitigate some of that harm by predicting where invasive species are likely to arrive. In a study published Sunday in the journal Ecology Letters, a team of European scientists mined millions of signals transmitted from ships entering harbors and used the information to figure out which of the world’s ports are most vulnerable to an influx of invasive species. Read more here.
 

(Canadian Transportation & Logistics)

The federal government will be splitting the cost of a new technology development at the Port of Halifax. The Government of Canada and the Port of Halifax will each contribute $330,000 towards an integrated port logistics system and an air gap system. The total cost of the two Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is estimated at $660,000.

“A strong and efficient transportation sector is critical to Canada’s future economic growth. I am proud that our government has supported these two Intelligent Transportation Systems projects, which will improve the efficiency of the supply chain, reduce costs, and increase the satisfaction of customers moving goods through Atlantic ports,” said Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay. “Ultimately, these will increase safe, efficient and reliable traffic flows while reducing environmental impacts.” Read more here.
 

(Journal of Commerce)

Li Ka-shing a Chinese billionaire with investments in container port facilities around the world, including in Hong Kong, has moved to end a four-week strike affecting operations at Hongkong International Terminals in Hong Kong by hiring new workers to handle ships and demanding protesters leave his building in the city’s Central District, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. Read more here.

Related: Shipping Industry Hit Hard by Dock Strike (South China Morning Post)
 

(David Badger – Lloyd’s Loading List)

With no end in sight to the Kwai Tsing dock strike, shippers have worked out a back-up plan to move Hong Kong cargo through ports in Guangdong.

The Hong Kong Shippers’ Council told reporters Guangdong Customs had agreed to speed up clearance of diverted shipments. The move follows the visit by a joint delegation from the council and the Federation of Hong Kong Industries to the province earlier this week. Read more here.
 

(Cargonews Asia)

A dock contractor at the centre of a weeks-old pay dispute dropped a bombshell on striking dockers… announcing it would put up the shutters after June 30. Global Stevedoring Service said it could not keep up its business any more with about three-quarters of its 170 dockers on strike for 22 days – and counting, reported the South China Morning Post.

Another main contractor that had also been mired in the row said it did not intend to follow suit as its operation had been recovering from the mass walkout at the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals that started on March 28. Read more here.
 

(ILA Union)

A new six-year Master Contract, covering some 14,500 waterfront workers belonging to the International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO (ILA) was overwhelming approved by ILA members today in a ratification vote conducted at ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coast. The ILA negotiated this new Master Contract with United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), an alliance of container carriers, direct employers, and port associations serving the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States.

The settlement ends more than a year of negotiations between employers and the ILA. With the assistance of the offices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services, the ILA and USMX negotiated well beyond the original contract deadline of September 30, 2012, agreeing to a series of extensions to keep cargo moving and bargaining continuing rather than engage in a devastating strike or lockout. Read more here.
 

(Journal of Commerce)

A strike at the Kwai Tsing Container Terminal in the Port of Hong Kong has entered a 12th day, with no negotiations planned to resolve the dispute, BBC reports.

Dockworkers and crane operators are requesting a pay increase of nearly 20% to keep up with inflation over the past decade. The port operator, Hongkong International Terminals, has distanced itself from the dispute, saying that it does not directly hire the workers and therefore cannot negotiate with them. Read more here.
 

(Cargonews Asia)

The dispute between striking dockers and the container port operator Hongkong International Terminals (HIT) escalated yesterday, with thousands of workers and their supporters staging a protest march.

Meanwhile, the city’s 20,000 truck drivers were urged to show their support by going on sick leave today, reported the South China Morning Post.

As the strike entered its 11th day, the 500 dockworkers on strike marched with their supporters from Causeway Bay’s Victoria Park to Central’s Cheung Kong Centre – where tycoon Li Ka-shing works – and then on to the government’s Tamar headquarters in Admiralty. Port operator HIT is a subsidiary of Li’s Hutchison Whampoa. Read more here.
 

(Journal of Commerce)

Strikes by dockworkers at Hong Kong’s container facilities continued today, further disrupting truck operations to and from facilities in the Kwai Tsing area of the port.

The numbers of strike workers have risen since late last week near facilities operated by Hongkong International Terminals, a subsidiary of Hutchinson Port Holdings Trust. Dockworkers are striking over salaries they claim have only been bumped once in the last 15 years despite soaring living costs in Hong Kong, and are campaigning for a pay rise of up to 20%. Read more here.
 

(Ian Putzger – Cargonews Asia)

Buoyed by rapid growth, the Port of Prince Rupert is laying the foundations for a host of expansion projects. Construction commenced on a US$90 million infrastructure project to boost surface access to the Ridley Island industrial site at the port, which has been slated for development of cargo facilities.

The port authority has secured $90 million to fund the project from government coffers as well as major stakeholders in its cargo business. Federal and provincial governments will contribute $15 million each, while Canadian National and the port authority will shoulder $30 million each.

The project includes construction of five parallel rail tracks, a two-lane roadway and a port-owned power distribution system along an eight-kilometre corridor. This will provide shared-use infrastructure for cargo terminals on Ridley Island. Read more here (subscription required).
 

(Max Tingyao Lin – Lloyd’s Loading List)

Terminal operators can benefit from shorter port stays from ever-larger containerships, according to industry officials, although volume is still king.

Despite the obvious advantages for carriers to operate large boxships more efficiently, saving unit costs and reducing chances of delays, those requirements present challenges as well as opportunities to port operators.

“Bigger ships are challenges: when they come, terminals worry that they cannot handle them,” Cosco Pacific deputy MD Ken Chan told the TOC Container Supply Chain Asia conference in Hong Kong. “We see higher investment costs for equipment and dredging, and higher labour costs, which have risen quicker than expected in China. Then sometimes when we add capacity we find out we don’t have enough volumes.” Read more here (subscription required).
 

(Journal of Commerce)

Import cargo volume at the United States’ major retail container ports is expected to rise 2.3% in March compared with the same month last year, despite federal spending cuts that could slow down cargo processing, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report from the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

“Retailers are aware of the impact of the cuts on customs operations at the ports and are working to plan accordingly so the impact on merchandise headed for the store shelves is minimized,” said Jonathan Gold, NRF’s vice president for supply chain and customs policy, in a written statement. Read more here.
 

(Rajesh Joshi – Lloyd’s Loading List)

A potentially crippling obstacle to a waterfront labour accord on the US Gulf and east coasts appears to have been overcome, after dockers and employers in New York-New Jersey reached a tentative six-year regional deal. If ratified, the deal may eliminate the threat of a container-centric docker strike from Maine to Texas.

The New York Shipping Association (NYSA), representing employers, and a dozen locals of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) yesterday hammered out an agreement covering items not addressed in the coastwise master contract agreed between the ILA and employer body US Maritime Alliance (USMX) five weeks ago.

“We are happy to announce that NYSA and the ILA have successfully concluded local contract negotiations on a six-year deal and have produced a settlement that both sides agree will protect ILA members into the future, and will allow NYSA-member shippers and carriers to remain competitive in the marketplace,” said a joint NYSA-ILA statement. Read more here.
 

(Star Ledger – Steve Strunsky)

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection service is warning of five-day delays for container inspections at the Port New York and New Jersey – the East Coast’s busiest port – because of automatic cuts in federal spending, a situation industry officials Monday said would have serious consequences.

An official with a retail trade organization said the backups and delay in unloading cargo would in all likelihood end up costing businesses and consumers money.

In a March 2 letter to shipping and air cargo groups, David Aguilar, a deputy commission of the customs service, warned of “increased and potentially escalating delays … at major seaports.”

Joseph Curto, president of the New York Shipping Association, the port’s main industry group, said five-day delays would create a backlog of containers awaiting inspection that the crowded port doesn’t have room for. “Five-day delays would have pretty dire consequences for the terminal operators here,” Curto said. “If the velocity is slow, the pipeline is narrowed, and it very quickly will back up.” Read more here.
 

(Journal of Commerce)

The Port of Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva) is at a standstill as dockworkers at India’s largest container gateway take part in a nationwide 48-hour general strike.

“All the three container terminals in the port are simply idling. There is no movement in the harbor, including loading or offloading intermodal trains,” a port official said.

Nearly 60% of India’s total containerized export and import cargo moves through Nhava Sheva. Officials said several ships are stranded at the outer anchorage for berth, and many more are scheduled to arrive. Read more here.
 

(CITT)

On Wednesday, February 27th, join CITT for a webinar that takes an in-depth look at your global transportation system – Canadian Ports.

Agenda:

This 45-minute webinar will present a detailed recount of the Port Industry in Canada. Specifically:

• A review of the economic impact of global trade within the Ports in our nation
• A historical look of traffic trends with significance of freight volumes in Canada
• An overview of operational challenges and opportunities of Canadian Port Authorities
• A synopsis of the realities of developing international trade through our Canadian Ports systems Q&A session

For more information or to register, go here.
 

(Journal of Commerce)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations agricultural specialists at the Port of Baltimore discovered on Feb. 7 that a shipment of celery seed from India was infested with dead Khapra beetles.

The specialists immediately collected specimens of the dead insects and sealed the container. The specimens were forwarded to a U.S. Department of Agriculture entomologist who confirmed them as Khapra beetles, one of the world’s most destructive insect pests of grains, cereals and stored foods. It is the only insect that Customs takes regulatory action against even while in a dead state. Read more here.
 

(Mark Solomon – DC Velocity)

Final deal contingent on ratification process, negotiation of local pacts.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and waterfront management last Friday night reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract that averts a Feb. 7 work stoppage and keeps 14 U.S. ports from Maine to Texas open for business.

The tentative agreement between the ILA and U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) was announced shortly before midnight by the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS), the federal agency that has mediated the dispute since it flared last September. The FMCS said the deal is subject to ratification and the ongoing negotiation of local pacts affecting the 14 individual ports. All ports will remain open during the follow-through process, FMCS said in the statement.

The deal was struck five days before the Feb. 6 deadline of the third and most recent contract extension. It was reported late Friday night that the contract is six years in duration. However, the FMCS statement did not disclose any information on the contract’s length.

The tentative contract agreement ends a four-month impasse that twice brought the ports to the brink of being shut down. The original contract was set to expire back on Sept. 30. Read more here.