With the latest update from the British Columbia Marine Employers Association posted on the net on January 23rd, it would appear that the two sides have reached a bit of an impasse as no new developments were announced, nor much in the way of progress was reported from the latest discussions.
. In a very short statementposted by the BCMEA on their website, they advise that "The BCMEA provided a comprehensive response to the Union's proposals dated January 15, 2009. Notwithstanding this effort, no further progress has been made."
With the discussions of Friday reaching a standstill, the next step will be up to mediator Jim Rooney who apparently will try to find some common ground for further sessions and contact the two parties to set up further dates.
No details on what the sticking points are in the current round of talks, or if any job action is anticipated from either the union or the management side of the table.
The union website for the ILWUprovided no update or background information on the current west coast port dispute.
The uncertainty over the port situation in British Columbia has been providing for some concern among port and shipping officials over potential lost container traffic to the main container terminals in the province including the Fairview Terminal in Prince Rupert.
The National Post is reporting in a story posted online this morning, that West Coast ports may be shut down due to a labour dispute as early as January.
Negotiations between the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union have been working with a conciliator for the last sixty days, but it would seem that the nature of those negotiations isn't developing in a positive light, with the 450 ship and dock foremen with ILWU Local 514 reportedly presenting a number of outstanding letters of understanding to the table, which has not be welcomed by the Maritime Employers association.
If the 450 foremen seek job action in January, they will effectively take with them the 4500 unionized longshore workers, who despite recently settling their differences with their employer would be affected by the Local 514 action.
The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association warned that the negotiations were not going well of late and should there not be a contract signed by this weekend, then shippers would begin to seek out other ports to move their product through.
With a year under their belt, the stakeholders of the Fairview Container Port have taken a look back at a rather exciting year which changed the nature of the Prince Rupert waterfront forever.
From a longshore work force tasked with new duties from their recent past, to the arrival of New Jersey's Maher Terminals to the west coast, the last 365 days of operations have provided a template for the future.
With ambitious expansion plans on the books, tempered we suspect by an eye on the currernt global economic troubles that may provide for an impact on current and future plans in the short term.
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For now though it was a look over the progress of the long sought after goal of a northwest gateway to Asia, which opened its gates to business in 2007.
The Daily News featured the snapshot of Prince Rupert's historic change as the front page, headline story in Wedensday's paper.
PORT PARTNERS LOOK BACK ON YEAR IT ALL CAME TOGETHER After first 12 months in operation, the new container port is delivering on potential By Kris Schumacher The Daily News Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Pages one and three
One year after shoreworkers at Fairview Container Terminal successfully unloaded Prince Rupert's first container ship, project partners reflect that employer-employee relations have never been better.
The beginning of operations took place on Wed., Oct. 31, 2007, when the COSCO vessel ANTWERP berthed during what workers recall was one of the worst days of weather the North Coast port has seen during the past 12 months.
The successful arrival and departure of that first 5,400-TEU (20-foot equivalent units) ship, and the on-time service of that first CN train carrying cargo to Chicago both served to prove true the promise that the Port of Prince Rupert made to the world shipping community. On Saturday, shoreworkers and management at the Fairview Container Terminal were celebrating the milestone with a dockside barbecue for the roughly 180 employees on all three shifts.
While crews worked early Saturday afternoon to load containers aboard the COSCO VANCOUVER, representatives from Maher Terminals and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union reflected on what had been accomplished in the previous 12 months. "From a year ago to right now, the morale has increased positively by about 100 per cent," said Glen Edwards, president of ILWU Local 505.
"Last year, when we started, the guys on the lower boards and the new hires were getting one day a week.
"Now, those same guys are getting three or four days a week, and I don't hear any more complaining. Basically, there are smiles on everyone's faces and real positive attitudes." Edwards said there were some issues that the union and management had to work through, but now with most issues settled everyone can look forward to successfully expanding the operation in the next few years.
Mark Schepp, assistant vice president of terminal operations with Maher Terminals, agreed that the improvements in productivity, safety and training among the workforce have been significant.
"From the Maher perspective, partnering with Local 514 has been a really good experience for us and they've been great partners for us," said Schepp. "When you throw in what CN has done as a partner, it's been a very good year for us. I think we're proving that Prince Rupert is a gateway that works, and we're looking to take advantage of that."
However, the world economy is obviously a concern for Maher and all the Fairview partners, and although everyone would like to believe a severe economic downturn will not affect the operation, Schepp said they will be in a better position to gauge the local impact in the first quarter of 2009.
"We anticipate that with our current two services, we won't have much of a downturn in the labour requirements here," said Schepp.
"The skill and dedication of the workforce here is right where it should be, and we've positioned ourselves at the right place and at the right time to do more business."
Prince Rupert is about to find out just how tough things can get on the waterfront, as the ports of the West Coast take more than just notice of the new player on the scene, but actively begin to seek out ways to recapture from or divert away container traffic from the Fairview Terminal.
While the market share for container traffic begins to tighten up with the economic troubles washing ashore, the competition for those 20 foot containers is heating up.
The development of the Fairview Container Port has finally gained some serious attention from the more established southern terminals, turning it from a curiosity into a competitor, and one which seems to be worrying those operators as the economic numbers tighten up.
As the American economy continues to slide into its anticipated deep recession, the calls for protectionism and subsidies to keep the American ports performing as one of the main engines of the American economy will begin to grow louder. It’s in that new environment that the Port of Prince Rupert will have to operate, the target for ports from Seattle to Long Beach all seeking to keep their share of the traffic and trying to convince the shipping lines to refrain from signing on with the newest addition to the Asia-Pacific Gateway.
So far The Port of Prince Rupert’s message has found an interested audience, as the Vancouver Sun discovered through its article on the growth of the terminal so far and the potential growth that is in the future.
He is urging the Provincial government to increase the potential of the Fairview terminal, outlining the complaints of Delta residents for any future expansion there and suggesting that the government is missing out on the advantage of a congestion free location on the North Coast.
While on Wednesday, The Daily News featured the latest interest in the container Port with a front page headline story on the looming battle for market share of the Asian shipping lines.
GLOVES OFF AS WEST COAST PORTS BATTLE FOR BUSINESS Los Angeles signals that it will try to grab Rupert’s customers By George T. Baker The Daily News Wednesday, November 5, 2008 Pages one and three
As the new kid on the block, the Port of Prince Rupert hasn’t seen much animosity directed toward it for the business it has been accumulating over the last year.
But that is all changing now, with the Port of Los Angeles now claiming it is going to go after Prince Rupert’s share of the market.
And according to one UBC professor, the port had better get used to hanging tough with the big boys. “This is the way business normally competes. If you want to say that (Prince Rupert) is no longer under the radar, I don’t think they ever were,” said Garland Chow, an associate professor with the operations and logistics division of the UBC Sauder School of Business.
Chow said that this attention proves that Prince Rupert is being taken seriously as a competitive port and that the local port is impacting other ports up and down the West Coast.
“The shipping traffic (to the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach) is down significantly and therefore all of a sudden L. A. and Long Beach are saying we don’t want traffic to be down, and the environment is such that they are looking for traffic whereas before they would be happy if someone diverted that traffic because they were so congested,” said Chow.
The port of Los Angeles announced last week that it would be offering a new incentive to attract customers to its shores. The Californian port said it was contemplating a short-term incentive program to pay tenants $10 for every new TEU they bring to the port either by adding a new service or luring an existing service from another West Coast port.
Apparently, the move has annoyed major West Coast ports.
The port of Los Angeles doesn’t see it that way. It said that diverting traffic from the big ports would not be the main intention of the of the incentive plan.
According to the Humboldt Bay Watch, Los Angeles Harbor Commission president S. David Freeman they had a more northerly focus in mind.
“Our primary purpose is to attract business from Prince Rupert,” said Freeman, who also added they would like to take business away from the port of Savannah as well.
The Port Authority of Prince Rupert would not comment on the story. But it did release the facts and figures from its third quarter.
The new numbers might be a reason why they would love to be hidden on the port competition scene.
According to the port, container traffic throughput in Fairview Terminal was up 261 per cent in the third quarter from the first quarter.
The number of TEU’s jumped to 59,220, up from the 21,040 from the first quarter.
Chow said that, over time, a number of shippers will be holding back a bit in doing business with Prince Rupert to see what the actual experience will be for the once the port is running at full capacity – and going through at least one or two winters.
He added that because the port is relatively new, there is no track record to detail how the North Coast weather will impact business decisions going forward.
“We know that the railroads start to get congested on the normal routes from Vancouver to the east in a typical winter. At least if they are stuck on one port, a ship could be diverted to another port. In Prince Rupert, you just don’t have that in the north.”
Coons says L.A. plan shows Fairview is a real competitor By Shaun Thomas - The Northern View Published: November 04, 2008 11:00 PM
North Coast MLA Gary Coons says that a report out of Los Angeles shows how competitive Fairview Terminal is on the world stage, but says that it is a fact that isn’t being reflected by Premier Gordon Campbell and the B.C. Liberals.
According to a story published in The Cunningham Report, port officials in Los Angeles are contemplating a $10 incentive for every new TEU brought in by customers. And Los Angeles Harbour Commission president James Hankla specifically mentions drawing traffic from Prince Rupert as one of the reasons for the move.
“Everyone in the business knows that the Port of Prince Rupert is the player to watch out for. If the Premier spent half as much energy working with the Port of Prince Rupert as he has done pushing Deltaport, we’d have every port on the West Coast scrambling to keep up with us,” said Coons.
“Los Angeles specifically mentioned Prince Rupert as target they want to lure cargo from. The major players take Prince Rupert more seriously than the Campbell Liberal government.” The Prince Rupert Port Authority declined to comment on the article or on the concept of incentives to attract new traffic, but Coons says this shows that the focus of the Gateway program should be further north than Delta.
“I can’t understand why the Campbell Liberals continue to ignore the potential of the Port of Prince Rupert while shoving a port expansion down the throats of citizens of Delta. If Campbell wants to build a gateway that matters he should invest in the Port of Prince Rupert and the northern transportation corridor,” he said.
“Most people in Prince Rupert are behind the port and we don’t have the built in problems with congestion that plague the lower mainland. The Campbell Liberals should invest in Prince Rupert instead of spending millions to pave over Burns Bog for Deltaport.”
TEU numbers up as ships get bigger By Shaun Thomas - The Northern View Published: November 04, 2008 11:00 PM
The amount of container traffic at Fairview Terminal is up 281 per cent in the third quarter of 2008 compared to the first quarter.
That equates to 59,220 TEUs in the last three months compared to 21,040 TEUs in the first three months of the year, bringing the total to 102,775 TEUs handled by the terminal to the end of the third quarter.
In terms of a breakdown for the year, 50 ships have called on Fairview, unloading 62,365 TEUs from Asia and taking 40,423 TEUs across the Pacific. Of those containers that are being exported, 33.6 per cent of them were fully laden.
The increase in traffic is being attributed to not only the addition of the COSCO-CKYH Alliance’s weekly CEN service that began calling on Prince Rupert in July, but also to the fact that the service has begun phasing out the use of the smaller ships in favour of those capable of handling more TEUs.
Along with the increased tonnage at Fairview Terminal, Ridley Terminals has seen a slight increase in its tonnage. However, Prince Rupert Grain tonnage declined by 28 per cent and raw log exports dropped by 39,813. Overall the tonnage for the port authority is up 70,000 tonnes.
The size of the vessels calling on the Fairview container port are growing, as is the ports reputation for handling their cargo.
The largest ship to call on the port this year will arrive on Friday as the CoscoNapoliarrives at 8 am to unload its load of containers, with a capacity for 8,200 TEUs, the arrival of the Napoli showcases a significantly larger cargo load than in the past, which has seen vessels carrying 5,400 TEU's making the regular call.
The Tuesday Daily News featured a front page story which examined the pending arrival of the vessel and how Maher Terminals plans on unloading it and showcase their "express gateway" concept for the transportation sector.
MILESTONE AS PORT HANDLES WEST COAST'S BIGGEST SHIP
No other port on this coastline can handled a bigger ship than the 8,200 - TEUNapoli By George Baker The Daily News Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Page one
In the highly competitive North American port industry, anything that sells your port to the shipping world can be big.
And if that selling point happens to be bigger ships floating into the harbour, the Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) is more than willing to welcome in more massive vessels.
On Friday, the port is expecting a container ship, the Napoli, to dock at the Fairview Container Terminal at 8 a.m. The ship holds 8,200 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) making it a new high in capacity for the young terminal (see photo on page 2).
The terminal is usually serviced by 5,400-TEU ships, making the Napoli significantly larger than the typical vessel that has called at the port to date.
The increase is not only in capacity but also in physical size - the ship is much bigger then the normal 280-cubic-metre boats that make their way into Prince Rupert.
According to Barry Bartlett, a Prince Rupert Port Authority spokesperson, the Napoli measures 355 cubic metres, which is 200 feet larger than the typical container ship that has been docking in the city of rainbows.
The Napoli is expected to dock for 24 hours during which time a full team will work round-the-clock to relieve the ship of its cargo. This is typical of the "express gateway" operations the port is characterized by, added Bartlett, and the speed by which ships are being unloaded has management at the Prince Rupert Port Authority very excited about the port's future and hopeful that more ships like this will choose Prince Rupert as a docking destination.
"Service through Prince Rupert is greatly exceeding expectations," said Bartlett of industry reaction to the port's capacity to handle such large container ships. He said that there is no other West Coast port that can handle a ship this large.
Since the beginning of the FairviewTerminal's operations last year, the port has had a 35 per cent increase in tonnage travelling through the port. The additional throughput points to more good news for a port that has increased business by 11 per cent from January to June in comparison to last year.
Before the Napoli, the previous largest vessel to ever stop in Prince Rupert was the Long Beach, owned by COSCO. That ship held 7,455 TEUs and docked July 19.
"As a result, we are maintaining a high velocity in moving customers' cargo from point of origin to destination consistently on time, efficiently and quickly."- --Shaun Stevenson, vice president Marketing & Business Development for the Prince Rupert Port Authority outlining the ports success so far in the container moving business.
The addition of a second vessel to call on the Port of Prince Rupert is only going to improve the throughput, that at least seems to be the indication from Port Officials who have released quarterly figures which show that the word is getting out about shipping through Fairview.
While Port representatives continue to seek out a third vessel stop, they are using the current numbers to express their belief that the future is very positive for the NOrth coast and it's place in the world of shipping.
The Daily News featured details of the ports figures as the front page story in Friday's paper, while a number of North American business sites picked up the details as well. We provide links to their reports and the full Daily story below.
RAMPED-UP PORT MAKING WAVES ON THE WORLD STAGE COSCO executive says Prince Rupert facility exceeded expectations for service and speed By Kris Schumacher The Daily News Friday, July 25, 2008 Pages one and five
With the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles facing problems with expansion of their container terminal operations, the future of Prince Rupert's Fairview Container Terminal continues to look bright.
The addition of a second weekly COSCO ship last month is proving the reliability of the intermodal container delivery network from the port of Prince Rupert into the U.S. Add to that the growing demand of shippers for an alternate corridor and the skyrocketing price of fuel, and the rainy North Coast is looking better than ever to shipping companies worldwide.
Howard Finkel, executive vice president for trade at COSCO Container Lines Americas Inc., said in a recent Journal of Commerce article that the system of uninterrupted rail movement and delay-free customs clearance for the 80 per cent of containers bound for the U.S. has worked almost flawlessly.
Finkel said the operation has "exceeded expectations," with containers often arriving at their destination ahead of schedule.
COSCO Canada executive vice president Dave Bedwell also had good things to say about Prince Rupert.
"COSCO certainly has been very pleased with the congestion free and fluid operations of their vessels calling at the Fairview Container Terminal in Prince Rupert," said Bedwell.
"What is interesting to witness is watching an entire community doing whatever has to be done and their pride taken in doing so, to ensure that their new venture in containerization will be successful."
The first six months of 2008 saw 42,555 TEUs (435,550 tonnes) moved through the Fairview Container Terminal, an average of 7,093 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) per month. Outbound containers accounted for nearly 50 per cent of the throughput, of which 39 per cent were fully laden for export to Asia.
Weekly container volumes through Prince Rupert have been steadily increasing since early April, from 1,232 TEUs to a record of 2,631 TEUs.
The Fairview partners couldn't be happier with the performance.
The performance is especially good when the increasing volumes are compared to the North American West Coast port trend of container import declines.
"All of the players involved in the Fairview Terminal, from labour and border security services to Maher Terminals, CN and COSCO, have been working collaboratively and diligently to meet shippers' needs and expectations," said Shaun Stevenson, vice president Marketing & Business Development for the Prince Rupert Port Authority.
"As a result, we are maintaining a high velocity in moving customers' cargo from point of origin to destination consistently on time, efficiently and quickly."
The largest container vessel to call at Prince Rupert since the intermodal container terminal began operations in late October, 2007, COSCO's 7,455 TEU Long Beach, also represents another significant milestone for the Port of Prince Rupert.
The Long Beach docked on July 19, and is the second vessel of a string of five of the new CEN weekly service by COSCO and the CKYH Alliance that began July 8. To everyone's satisfaction, within 24 hours 1,956 TEUs were offloaded and loaded. This is the new service by the Alliance is comprised of vessels up to 8,200 TEUs, significantly larger than the nine 5,400 TEU container ships that make up the first weekly PNW service.
"The container volumes at the Fairview Terminal are continuing to increase almost on a weekly basis while the West Coast trend is a decrease in container imports," said Stevenson.
"This is a validation of the value proposition of the service from shippers provided by this new express trade corridor anchored by the Port of Prince Rupert."
The throughput is expected to increase substantially as both weekly service calls continue to ramp up, and the Port of Prince Rupert's overall performance continues to improve as well. Total volume throughput from January to June was 5,517,337 tonnes, up 11 per cent compared to 5,021,819 for the first six months of 2007. The container volume of 435,550 tonnes and Ridley Terminals' 2,741,906 tonnes (up 8.5 per cent) led the increase in throughput, while product through Prince Rupert Grain decreased 8.5 per cent from 2,607,407 to 2,170,643 tonnes.
Well we have a new camera and a hard drive full of quick shots, so maybe we'll resuscitate our photo blog eh... We'll strive to update the feature a couple of times a week.
We begin anew with an overview of the Fairview Container Port, the new engine of commerce on the west side of the city.
Two container ships a week now call on Fairview, sending goods deep into the heart of North America and sending the odd container or two off to Asian lands.
The much anticipated second ship pulled alongside the Fairview Container Terminal dock on last week, making for double the amount of arrivals per week at the port and starting speculation as to when more vessels may call on the Port of Prince Rupert.
The addition of a second vessel however won't translate into a sudden surge in employment on the waterfront, as Maher Terminals already has more than enough workers on call to handle the extra volume and in fact it will mainly result in more hours for those that handle the first vessel of the week on Wednesday's.
Something that will be a bit of a disappointment to the many applicants who secured a much coveted union number last summer and still wait for a call to a regular and profitable workday on the docks.
So far the employment picture at Fairview has been rewarding for those with the high numbers and for those that reclaimed their local status, or returned from the Lower Mainland, but not quite the finding of gold many suspected during last summers cattle call of applications.
With vessel number two now secured on a regular route, the attention turns to luring a third vessel to head for the North coast, which would be the third and final spot on the Rupert roster until expansion of the Fairview dock takes place.
The Daily News provided some background on the new arrival and how it impacts on the day to day operations of the Terminal.
All eyes on port as additional ship calls at Rupert BY CARLA WINTERSGILL The Daily News Monday, July 14, 2008
Page one
The newly added second weekly COSCO ship arrived last week at the Port of Prince Rupert, and its success could attract another line to Rupert.
"The way it works is that we have room for three calls a week," said Barry Bartlett of the Port Authority.
"Basically, there is room for one more. Our understanding is that there is a high level of interest and activity among other shipping lines to fill that third slot."
Everything went smoothly with the new steamship.
"The ship arrived on time, was unloaded within the time frame and departed on time," said Bartlett.
COSCO, along with its business alliance, was the first company to call at the newly opened port in 2007.
The company ships cargo in from China to North America via Prince Rupert.
Compared to other West Coast ports, Prince Rupert is the closest port to Asia by 58 hours of sailing time. This allows shippers additional time in which to squeeze in approximately one extra round-trip voyage per year.
But increased activity in the port doesn't necessarily translate into extra jobs.
Mark Schepp of Maher Terminals says that the port already has enough staff to handle the extra cargo.
"It just means more days and additional shifts for the current workforce. It doesn't mean that we're going to hire more people," said Schepp.
"It just means that the current workforce will be employed on more days of the week. We have a large enough workforce, so that they will work more."
While it seems unlikely that a squabble over rail lines in the off the beaten path parts of Illinois might change the dynamic of the Port of Prince Rupert, in the world of transportation you just never know.
With such key and positive aspects as Time, Efficiency and Security,Cernetig provides some solid evidence that the Rupert port is on the right track, even if there may have to be a few detours around Mr. Obama's neighbourhood .
America weighs in on the future of Prince Rupert super-port By Miro Cernetig Vancouver Sun Friday, May 30, 2008 . VANCOUVER - The dreamers behind Canada's Pacific Gateway, a 21st-century version of the St. Lawrence Seaway now taking shape on the West Coast, got a bit of a scare a few days ago. BarackObama, the man who might very well be the next man to occupy the White House, seemed to be trying to kill the dream of transforming Prince Rupert into a truly global port. Obama is speaking out against a $300-million deal designed to extend the Port of Prince Rupert's reach deep into the U.S. industrial heartland.
The Illinois Senator is throwing his weight behind a small village outside of Chicago that doesn't want Canadian National Railway Co. to buy up the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway. The intent is to avoid the bottleneck of Chicago by going through Barrington Village, and get the trains to Memphis, Tenn., cutting 17 hours of travel time. But that would dramatically expand train traffic through the area.
Obama, known for both his protectionist sentiment and grassroots politicking in Chicago, had this to say about he project: "Cities and towns ... along the EJ&E line must be assured their commerce and their safety are not imperilled by slow-moving trains that could be as much as two miles in length."
Other members of Congress are weighing in with their opposition as well, hoping to derail the $300-million deal, which is now before the U.S. Surface Transportation Board. The crux of their argument is that the 198-mile railway includes 130 crossings and creates a safety hazard, and will alter the nature of the community. With trains as long as two miles in length constantly trundling through Chicago suburbs, it's also expected that billions of dollars will need to be spent on new infrastructure, such as underpasses and bridges. Senator Obama and others want CN to foot the bill.
With a potential president as an opponent, the residents of Prince Rupert can be forgiven for thinking that their dream of rapidly enlarging their port - there are plans to quadruple the container port from the current 500,000 TEUs (those semi-truck sized containers atop freighters) to two million TEUs by 2012 - might be in jeopardy. But they need not worry. It's a safe bet that even Obama won't be able to derail Canada's newest addition to the Pacific Gateway.
The reason is that while the railway loop around Chicago may be controversial in the sleepy suburbs of Illinois, its construction is clearly in the United States' economic and strategic interest. If Obama is elected to the Oval Office in November, he will quickly realize that there is broad consensus amongst the U.S. political and business class that the rapid expansion of Canada's tiny and still obscure container port is important. The backyard political interests of the Senator in Chicago will be trumped. There's bigger stakes here.
Prince Rupert's container facility opened for operation just before midnight on Oct. 31, 2007, when the MVCosco Antwerp sailed in from Yokohama, Japan. It wasn't a moment that got a lot of attention. But it was a historic event.
The $170-million Prince Rupert Container facility, with its single berth, represents the first Trans-Pacific transportation corridor built in a century. It is also a new and modern model that will quickly make it a favoured Pacific port. Here's three reasons why:
- Time. In the world of global trade, where companies like "just-on-time" delivery, B.C.'s new container port wins, hands down. A container leaving on a ship from Yokohama will arrive in Prince Rupert three days earlier than if it headed to Long Beach, Calif. In the world of $130-a-barrel oil, those three days also translate into a major energy savings and less of a carbon footprint. (1,800 metric tonnes less of CO2 per year, per ship.)
- Efficiency. Prince Rupert's container facility is a new model for how a port operates. Since it was built from scratch in a relatively unpopulated area, there are no trucks that are needed to transport unloaded containers to a distant rail terminal. The rail cars can park right on the dock's edge. A ship is unloaded - or loaded - within 24 hours. And the containers don't sit there for long. The "dwell time" of a container in the new port is about two days. In older, more conventional ports, dwell time can be three days or even much more.
- Security. The Prince Rupert container facility was built post-9/11, with anti-terrorism in mind. That means every single container coming into Prince Rupert is scanned for radiological leaks that may indicate a dirty bomb or worse.
That makes it quite possibly the most secure port on the continent. And it makes the people at the U.S. government's Department of Homeland Security very happy. As a result, the CN trains that pick up containers and head to Chicago and Memphis don't need to stop at the U.S.-Canada border. The train merely slows down, and 100 per cent of containers are X-rayed for contraband at the border crossing. The train travels to Chicago in about 90 to 100 hours.
All three of those elements - times savings, efficiency and security - mean we've created a remarkable trade artery between Asia and the U.S. industrial heartland. When a Yokohama container is put on the Prince Rupert route, for example, it will be in Chicago in about 12 days. A container that took the California route from Yokohama would at best just be leaving the port at Long Beach when the Prince Rupert container is already delivered.
So far, Prince Rupert's new port facility isn't running even close to its capacity. In its first four months, since November, it handled about 40,000 TEUs, well below the 160,000 capacity at full operation. That 80-per-cent shortfall was not unexpected, however. It's partially because the facility is a start-up, so shipping companies want to make sure it works as billed. Container traffic has also slowed worldwide because of a downturn in the global economy, the U.S. sub-prime meltdown that has hit the U.S. economy, and the spike in fuel costs. Shippers think twice before running a half-empty container ship across the Pacific.
But short of the unlikely scenario of a collapse in the Asian economy, the future of Canada's newest container port - and the City of Prince Rupert - seems assured. With a container port this efficient, and with global trade routes more important then ever, even a President Obama can't kill the dream.
Charles Hays would be happy. He's the railroad man and visionary who had the original idea. A century ago, he was the first to realize that Prince Rupert was days closer to Asia than the established West Coast ports. He even built the Grand Trunk Railway, laying the rail route now used by CN.
But Hays never saw his dream come to pass because of a fatal choice in 1912. He was returning from London with the financing to complete the final 200 kilometres of track to the port of Prince Rupert. But he never made it back. He boarded the RMS Titanic.
The Financial Post is still bullish on the Fairview Container Port, in an article published online today, the business section of the National Post advises that the Port of Prince Rupert is about to announce the addition of two new vessels to call on Prince Rupert this summer. The first of the new vessels will make their first port call in June or July.
This will come as a welcome sign for the community which has seen the promised throughput from the Rupert port turn a little sluggish over the last few months and not reach the original benchmarks that had been laid out for it upon its opening.
Part of the problem has been a slowdown of the American economy and the reduction in shipments to North America because of it, at the moment the port off loads 22 containers an hour, though the gross weekly volume has been under performing from the original expectations.
The port is designed to be able to handle 9,600 standard-sized containers a week, but so far has averaged only 1100 a week, with that number increasing to 1,800 since April, still well below full operations.
That situation it is hoped will change as other shipping lines learn more about the advantages of the North coast port and begin to move their containers from the Northwest as opposed to the Lower Mainland or USA.
The Financial Post article provides an interesting look at the status of the port so far and how it is being received world wide...
Prince Rupert terminal starting to make waves
Nathan VanderKlippe,
Financial Post
Published: Wednesday, May 21, 2008
VANCOUVER -- Billed as the "St. Lawrence of the West," the Port of Prince Rupert has spent the months since its grand opening last November dramatically under-performing expectations. Its cranes are capable of off-loading 9,600 standard-sized containers a week. Until April, the sole shipping line that uses the port's new container terminal delivered just 1,100 a week. In the past month, that number has risen to 1,800 weekly, still less than a fifth of capacity.
But the faltering start, which comes largely thanks to a sluggish U.S. economy that has decreased container traffic to the entire Pacific coast by about 5%, could soon come to an end. Maher Terminals, the New Jersey-based operator of the Prince Rupert's Fairview container terminal, plans to triple the number of ships calling at the northern port beginning in a month or so. Currently, only one ship a week calls there.
"There's two new ships coming in June or July," said Odd Eidsvik, a board member with the port.
It's unclear whether the new ships will come from Cosco Container Lines or Hanjin Shipping Co., the shippers whose vessels currently sail to the port, or other members of the CKYH Alliance, which includes K-Line and Yang Ming Line.
But the boost in scheduled service lends weight to arguments from the port, railroads and shippers, who all say the $170-million Fairview Terminal weathered its first winter in remarkably good form, despite the low volumes.
"The terminal operation at Maher is just beyond our expectation," Canadian National Railway Corp. chief financial officer Claude Mongeau said on a conference call Wednesday. "Everything is humming from an operations standpoint."
Ships have arrived and departed on schedule and, despite having relatively inexperienced crews, the new terminal has off-loaded containers at the rate of 22 an hour, "which is really quite impressive and very competitive for North America," said port spokesman Barry Bartlett.
"To be totally frank we're not going to be at the 500,000 [annual 20-foot container throughput] capacity as quickly as we thought we were, but it is getting there," he said. "Because this is a brand new business model, it goes against the grain. We don't have a local market. We're way up north. The jury was out to see if the service was going to work."
Many do still remain unconvinced. Take K-Line, for example. Its containers float into Prince Rupert's harbour aboard Cosco ships, then float out again to be delivered to more southern ports.
"It takes a little doing to convince American importers that [Prince Rupert] is a viable alternative and will be able to service their needs," said K-Line's Vancouver general sales manager Quentin Newman, who said existing contracts with competing rail lines also make it difficult for him to ship through the northern port.
One operational element that has been strong, however, is outbound traffic through Prince Rupert.
"Many of our resource commodity exporters in Canada would like to ship more out of Prince Rupert, but we can't," because of ship weight restrictions, said Dave Bedwell, executive vice-president of Cosco Canada.
Northern B.C. exporters, who had hoped Prince Rupert would provide cheap backhaul shipping to Asia, have faced other problems. Virtually all backhaul containers have been filled in Alberta and the U.S. Midwest, leaving almost nothing for would-be exporters in small B.C. towns. Even CN's own Prince George container-stuffing facility, built specifically for Prince Rupert, has almost exclusively packed goods for export out of Vancouver.
"The container terminal itself has had challenges getting itself set up to be really useful for us out of central B.C.," said Ian McIver, general manager of the global supply chain for lumber producer Canfor Corp.
Still, few are pessimistic about Prince Rupert's future prospects. The port itself is pushing ahead with expansion plans that would quadruple its capacity, Canfor's Mr. McIver said he expects to ship through it as containers become available, and even Mr. Newman said it's only a matter of time before K-Line comes to call.
"It's a fabulous terminal," he said. "It's not necessarily a question of if - but when - we will go through there with some cargo."
"We are already trying to figure out, and we are confident enough, that we are trying to figure out ways we increase capacity through the facility as well."--Hunter Harrison, CN Rail CEO speaking about the Fairview Container Terminal.
While the economic slowdown continues in the USA and other economic factors begins to affect the world of shipping, CN still finds that the Prince Rupert advantage will be something to trumpet to importers and exporters over the next few years.
The railroad is looking towards its transportation partners to begin to increase the current through put through the Fairview facility, with an eye towards larger ships arriving and of further expansion of the port's handling capabilities in the future.
CN BOSS BULLISH ABOUT PORT PROSPECTS FOR EXPANSION
He is expecting to see more large ships calling at Fairview By Leanne Ritchie The Daily News Thursday, April 24, 2008
Pages one and two
In between a harsh winter, a slumping U.S. economy and high fuel costs, the new intermodal container terminal operations in Prince Rupert remained a bright spot for CN Rail in the first quarter of 2008.
During a conference call with analysts earlier this week, Hunter Harrison, CN's chief executive officer, said the company is on track to meet its projections of $100 million in revenue from the first year of operations and, despite a softening in import volumes, the rail company is continuing discussions with shippers to add more volume at the Maher Terminals facility.
"The $100 million in revenue in guidance for this year is still right on track," said Harrison. "I have been more optimistic in the past and thought we would have had more of that capacity filled by now but clearly the import volumes into North America from Asia are down."
There are two reasons CN believes it can beat its earnings estimate for volumes moving through the facility.
"One is we continue to have dialogue with additional customers and there are still a number of steamship companies and consortiums that are talking to us about making Prince Rupert a new port of call," Harrison said. "Also, we are talking to COSCO and their business partners about increasing the size of vessels they may use to call on Prince Rupert because of some rationalizing that is ongoing between the Atlantic and Pacific calls. This would also add the capacity to bulk up our numbers for this year."
COSCO began moving containers through the terminal in October of 2007. The ships stoping in Prince Rupert are part of the CKYH Alliance's Pacific Northwest Butterfly South Loop service, of which COSCO is one of four shipping lines. Each ship has a capacity of 5,400 TEUs (average 20-foot containers.)
And despite the slump in import volumes and problems in the U.S., Harrison said they are still working on ways to expand capacity at the port.
"We are already trying to figure out, and we are confident enough, that we are trying to figure out ways we increase capacity through the facility as well," he said.
It's been a hash winter for CN Rail, and soft markets have the company reducing its earnings forecast. CN released its first quarter results, with earnings falling four per cent to $311 million. CN executives said its results were impacted by a severe winter in many parts of North America, high fuel costs, a strong Canadian dollar and slumping American economy. "Thank God it's spring time," said Harrison.
The extreme cold and snow affected the entire system this winter, including Prince Rupert-to-Prince George.
In January, CN took the unprecedented step of suspending most operations in the West for almost two days to ensure the safety of employees.
"Clearly, I thought last year was a bad winter. This year went far beyond," he told analysts, noting record snowfall in Quebec, Ontario, Michigan and Wisconsin.
CN said weather challenges cost the company three cents per share of lost earnings. "Contrary to other reports, I thought we bounced back pretty quick," he added, rejecting one analyst's suggestion that the company may have ended up cutting expenses too deeply.
Due to the challenges facing the U.S. economy and fuel costs, the railway also lowered its 2008 diluted earnings per share forecast to the "mid-single digit" range over 2007 earnings per share of $3.40. That's down from an earlier forecast of "mid-to-high" single digit growth. Revenues should grow at between six and eight per cent, the Montreal-based railway said.
Canadian National is expressing optimism that the volume of trade through the Fairview container Port is going to continue to grow. Either through another shipping line calling at the North coast port or through increased volume from their existing customers.
In a story in the Prince George Citizen, James Foote, the railroad's Vice President of marketing and sales, is quoted as telling a financial conference in New York City that the new container service is adding 100 million dollars to the CN revenue accounts. He added during his presentation that the potential for up to 300 million dollars in revenues through Prince Rupert is certainly within reach.
The Citizen article also highlighted how the Rupert port is adding to the ability of a Prince George based industry to compete in the world marketplace, sending containers filled in the interior city through Prince Rupert and on to Russia.
CN upbeat on Rupert port Thursday, 20 March 2008, 02:00 PST GORDON HOEKSTRA
Prince George Citizen CN says it expects to add another customer or have its existing customers grow at the new $170-million container-handling facility in Prince Rupert this year.
"I am optimistic we will overachieve in our expectations this year by having another customer make Prince Rupert it's port of call, or have our existing customer base there increase that capacity," CN vice-president of marketing and sales James Foote told a JP Morgan aviation and transportation conference on Wednesday.
"Had the market for inbound container business not softened somewhat on the U.S. west coast this year, I believe we would have had that facility sold out to capacity," said Foote. CN figures that the new container business is adding about $100 million in revenue, but that could grow to $300 million.
The first vessel unloaded containers in Prince Rupert last October.
COSCO, or the China Ocean Shipping Co., the world's sixth largest shipping company, in conjunction with the CKYH Alliance, are the first shippers to use the Prince Rupert port. The CKYH Alliance includes the Korean firm Hanjin, Japan's K-Line and Taiwan-based Yang Ming. The $170-million container port has been lauded as a boost for northern B.C.'s economy, not only from in-bound container traffic, but from the potential for out-bound traffic as well.
Recently, Prince George-based Del-Tech Manufacturing announced it had reached a deal for a special container service with CN that allowed the company to compete in the global market. Saving money on shipping individual containers, allowed Del-Tech to ship 60 containers bound for Russia from CN's intermodal facility in Prince George.
The federal and provincial governments contributed $30 million each to the project, and Maher Terminal invested another $60 million. CN invested millions more in upgrades, including a container loading facility at Prince George.
The Prince Rupert terminal can handle 500,000 containers. A $650-million second phase will raise that capacity to two million containers by 2011.
Plans have also been started for a second terminal that would add a further two to three million containers worth of capacity by 2015. The Port of Vancouver handles 1.5 million containers a year.
The idea of Port Security for the Fairview Container Terminal has been placed high on the list for many of the government agencies involved with the Port of Prince Rupert. From screening, to transportation and intelligence gathering its a collective effort that is designed to keep the operations of the Terminal running smoothly, safely and securely.
Members of the Port Security Committee outlined some of the safeguards in place from both the CBSA and RCMP officials who have been tasked to provide their attention to all matters regarding port security.
In a Daily News article in Friday’s paper, officials provided some background on the task at hand and the procedures that they have in place to fulfill their mandate.
Law enforcement ready to meet port challenges Security issues getting full attention of officials By Kris Schumacher The Daily News Friday, March 07, 2008 Pages 3 and 5
In response to reports that new levels of organized crime and other criminal elements may be tempted to set up shop in Prince Rupert, the Port Security Committee partners want the public to know that they are working together to head off any and all elements of crime associated with the port.
"The Prince Rupert RCMP is working with many government and port agencies to ensure public safety and maintain high levels of public safety so our citizens can enjoy a safe community," said Constable Krista Vrolyk.
"Through regular meetings and lots of intelligence-sharing between partner groups, we're making sure we are prepared to meet any challenges the port may bring."
The RCMP will be actively investigating any allegations or information they receive regarding the presence of organized crime within the community, and those crimes or criminals thought to have links to organized crime will receive the highest priority.
"We're always out, and our eyes and ears are always open," said Vrolyk. "Any information we receive will be acted on and we will take measures to ensure prosecution before the court and maintain high levels of safety in our community."
There was a recent posting on the federal government job website for a Criminal Intelligence Analyst in Prince Rupert, a new position for the community that Constable Dave Uppal says would work with local RCMP units.
"An analyst is very important in helping us take all the intelligence and information that is coming in, decipher it, and take us in different directions with investigations that we may not normally to be able to without an analyst," said Uppal. "But a lot of our job is also based around intelligence that's given to us by local citizens, and we will still rely on the community to keep us informed on anything they observe."
The Canada Border Service Agency has also added two new intelligence officers as well as their own criminal analyst position.
Trevor Baird, CBSA chief of operations says information that one agency receives is often shared with other partners to lead to better investigations, whether the investigation is concerned solely with imports and exports or criminal entities existing further inland.
There has also been public concern about the security of imported containers, as they need to be transported from Fairview Container Terminal to the temporary facility on Watson Island. Baird says Fairview Container Terminal has a whole list of policies and regulations that personnel must follow, as do carriers transporting the containers and the Quickload inspection facility.
"The carrier that picks up the containers to transport them to Quickload also has to be bonded for customs purposes. The containers they're picking up are secured and have to meet a standard in their transport, and the Quickload facility is also designated a sufferance warehouse and follows similar procedures to the Fairview terminal."
Baird says within that entire process, there are checks and balances in place to ensure the containers are not tampered with from one location to the other. He says if there were certain risks associated with a particular container, certain procedures would be carried out to enhance security, such as CBSA escorting the container while it was transported from one facility to the other.
Further enhancing the safety and security of those vehicles and containers is the RCMP, which conducts vehicle checks periodically.
"We have a very sound system in place," said Baird. "We've never had an issue where a container has gone astray. There's a tremendous onus on the carriers to ensure the safe delivery of these containers, and they move very quickly from the dock to Quickload."
The committee also said that since the port is currently maximizing its export capacity in outbound containers, partners are exercising the same caution and diligence to prevent any British Columbia produced methamphetamines and marijuana, or any other illegal material from being shipped back overseas.
"Over the last couple months, we've been developing our export program and it's now operational," said Baird.
"We're screening export containers in conjunction with Maher, and we also do some level of targeting for outbound containers.
"We're looking for things not limited to narcotics, but stolen vehicles or hazardous waste. The Vancouver export program has had much success, and we're modeling our program off our colleagues in Vancouver."
All partners of the Port Security Committee stress the point that in order for their respective agencies to be successful at prevention and deterrence of crime, they will need more help from the community than ever before.
"It's amazing sometimes, when you're working on an investigation, what one bit or piece of information can do to advance the investigation or support criminal charges," said Vrolyk. "Any information citizens have, particularly when it does involve organized crime, it's really important for them to take ownership of the community and provide us that information, so we can continue to serve and provide the highest levels of safety."
The Port of Prince Rupert is looking for a few good places to get stuffed.
Joining with the Provincial Ministry of Economic Development, the Port is looking at potential locations for container stuffing facilities which will service the Fairview Container Port.
While other locations around the province are being examined, there is also a push locally to see some of these stuffing facilities located in Prince Rupert, providing quick and easy access to the Container Port and of course adding to the secondary industry aspect of the Container port development on the North Coast.
Andrew Hamilton, who is the business development manager for the Prince Rupert Port Authority says that the idea of locating stuffing terminals in the city makes sense. With many containers sitting idle in Prince Rupert before shipment back to Asia, some material could be forwarded to Prince Rupert in break bulk form and then loaded onto containers for shipment.
According to Hamilton, there is a very strong demand to stuff containers in Rupert for the port. The ability to stuff containers locally would make for a situation that would provide for more economic opportunity and job creation at the port.
The Daily News had some background on the possibilities in Tuesday’s paper.
Port looks at best places to back-fill containers By Leanne Ritchie The Daily News Tuesday, February 26, 2008 Pages one and two
The Port of Prince Rupert is working with the provincial Ministry of Economic Development to determine the best location to stuff B.C. goods into containers.
During a chamber of commerce lunch meeting last week, Andrew Hamilton, business development manager for the Prince Rupert Port Authority, said the organization has had a lot of inquiries from Prince Rupert and the region from people wanting to export products. However, there needs to be central locations for stuffing so that it can happen quickly without having containers drift off the main trade routes, he said.
"There are a lot of key assumptions people have to understand (when it comes to exporting using containers,)" said Hamilton.
"The first is, the shipping lines own the containers, this is key because they are the landlord and they dictate where these containers are going.
"Let's say there is product up in Fort St. John - some wood products - but there is a lot of apprehension by the shipping companies to let their containers drift off the supply chain because what they want to do is get a higher utilization out of their hardware."
In addition, he noted the shipping lines make more money on the inbound than the outbound journey.
"We have to be very very quick about getting product in to containers, again not letting it drift off into the hinterland."
Currently, CN Rail has developed container-stuffing facilities in Chicago and Memphis to handle cotton and other goods. Future plans include the development of a facility to stuff DDGs (derivative grain products sold as animal feed.)
It also has stuffing facilities in Edmonton, Grand Prairie and Prince George to handle forestry and agricultural products. However, there is a lot of interest in stuffing in Prince Rupert and developing other facilities throughout the province.
"The Ministry of Economic Development and port have been trying to work on a loading study that would determine in a logical basis the best place to load each product," he said.
"One thing we've seen from shippers is a very strong demand to stuff at the port. There's a lot of opportunity for more economic opportunity and job creation at the port," said Hamilton.
It makes sense to stuff in Prince Rupert because equipment dwells here for a couple of days before it gets on vessels, he said. Goods could be moved here in break-bulk format and then stuffed for shipping.
However, people need to realize not everything can go into a container.
"Shipping lines have contracts about what goes into containers say that are moving electronics into North America. The importer, like Best Buy, Sony or whomever, will have some say to stipulate what goes into that container on the back-haul. It reconfirms not everything can go into a container," he said.
As we posted to this site earlier this week, west side residents have taken their case for a quieter neighbourhood to city council. At Monday evening’s council meeting, a delegation of area residents presented a petition for consideration to have an anti whistling bylaw enacted for the Fairview rail yard area.
A number of residents of the Atlin Street/Graham Avenue area have expressed their concerns over the rather zealous nature of CN engineers to blow their whistles while transiting from the rail yards to the Fairview Container Terminal.
While stressing that they don’t mean to interfere with safety measures, they are however seeking relief from the whistling trains that can carry on their work late into the night.
The local bulletin board hackingthemainframe has carried on a lively debate over the issue. Some paticipants have taken the side of the beleaguered residents, while others tend to remind those of the area that the train tracks have been there a fairly long time now, so they knew that they lived in a quasi industrial area when they moved into the area. Those who tend to have their feelings hurt easily may wish to take a pass on the viewing...
The Daily News featured the controversy as a front page story in Wednesday’s paper.
SLEEP-STARVED RESIDENTS TURN ON WHISTLE-BLOWERS
By Leanne Ritchie The Daily News Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Page one
Residents in the city's west end want CN's engineers to lay off the horn when they are coming into the Fairview area.
And they say that need not mean safety is compromised.
A delegation attended Prince Rupert city council Monday night, saying people have been losing sleep and alleging some train conductors were blowing their whistles upwards of 20 times when entering the Fairview Area. And the group said whistling trains were make noise deep into the night.
"The noise of the engine whistles being sounded at all hours on the waterfront has become a serious irritant for the residents of Graham Avenue, Atlin Avenue and the surrounding areas for some time now," said Brian Denton, who spoke on behalf of the group.
"These excessive, loud and frequent whistles often cause the interruption of sleep and influence the ability of residents to function in their everyday lives."
While the residents said they welcome the growth that has been brought about by the expansion of the Fairview Terminal, the city needs to have a discussion with CN about ways to maintain safety levels without keeping the entire neighbourhood awake all night.
While there may be costs associated with changing rail crossings to include traffic control devices such as automated gates and flashing lights, Denton reminded the city that the Port of Prince Rupert, in its environmental assessment for the project, claimed that trains would not be crossing into town and there would be minimal noise impacts from the development.
"CNR, as a federally regulated railway, is under federal jurisdiction and Transport Canada has a program to provide financial assistance for eligible crossing upgrades," he said.
In addition, other cities have adopted anti-whistling bylaws.
City councillors agreed that they would start a conversation with CN and Maher Terminals about the issue and consider moving toward an anti-whistling bylaw.
Doug Jay, the city's corporate administrator, explained that the city will have to go through a process to petition CN and the Ministry of Transportation to eliminate whistling at public crossings.
"The general concept under this process is that the municipality, together with the railway and other authorities, work toward an agreement whereby the crossings can be designed in such a manner as to allow for the elimination of whistling," said Jay in his report.
The Fairview Container Terminal opened this October and prior to that, there has been little rail traffic moving to and from the break-bulk terminal for the past three years.
Having missed out on a previous visit due to mechanical problems, a group of Senators finally had the chance to see what all the excitement was all about at Fairview Terminal.
Senators from the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications did the Rupert tour last Saturday, as they met with local stakeholders to examine the success so far of the Fairview Container Port, and listen to some suggestions on how to make things work even better.
The Daily news provided a thumbnail guide to their tour in Tuesday’s paper.
Visiting senators eager to hear port wish-list By Leanne Ritchie The Daily News Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Pages one and two
A group of senators visiting Prince Rupert said they would like to see the potential of Canada's West Coast ports unleashed from restrictive legislation.
Four members of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications met with stakeholders ranging from the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce to the Prince Rupert Port Authority this Saturday.
Senator Donald Oliver (South Shore- Nova Scotia), deputy chair of the committee, said they are studying the change in transportation that has resulted during the past decade, with the vast majority of goods coming in to North America now being moved in containers instead of break bulk carriers or as air freight.
“We are looking at what new public policies are required to make Canada as a nation take advantage of this new trend in containerization; how do we have to change our laws to make sure companies and individuals can benefit from this, and what public policy initiatives do we have to take to ensure Prince Rupert, Vancouver, Halifax and other Canadian ports can become leaders in the world,” said Sen. Oliver.
One issue that the committee has heard about at each port they have visited is the need to allow port authorities to adequately fund investments in new facilities.
“The Canada Marine Act, as it is right now, does not allow governments to give subsidies and it’s very difficult for ports like Prince Rupert to access long-term capital funding for new infrastructure. All ports the committee has visited would like to have that changed,” he said.
This is the second time the delegation attempted to visit Prince Rupert They tried a few months ago, but were forced to turn back to Vancouver because of mechanical problems with their flight. They have been working on their report for the past year and a half and have only one more port to visit, to Halifax.
“Obviously, after a few months of operations clearly, (Fairview) is a winner but there are still challenges that are faced by port authorities that the Canadian government regulation can have an affect on,” said Sen. Dennis Dawson (Lauzon-Quebec).
Another issue that has been raised by port authorities and shipping companies are regulations that place additional taxation on containers that move in multiple directions or that make multiple stops in Canada.
“As the regulations stand now, if a container does more than one movement in or out, inside a certain period, it is taxed more. It is a disincentive to use that container in the most efficient way,” said Dawson.
“It’s a rule that has to be modernized. It don’t want to presume on how the report will be finished but clearly some of these issues that have been brought up to us from western and eastern port authorities show a strong case for modernization,” he said.
The committee hopes to finish its fact-finding visits within the next few weeks and it will then settle down to finish its report.
The Port of Prince Rupert continues to attract its fair share of attention below the 49th as an American trade magazine picks up the theme of potential expansion for “Port Rupert”.
World Trade magazine is featuring a look at the ports of America and where the competition is coming from, with the Fairview Container port being given its own bit of space in the examination of world trade on the Pacific.
And while they examine our operations on the coast, they also offer up an interesting study on how the different ports of America, both East and West coast are making plans to increase their share of the profitable transportation sector.
The portion which refers to “Port Rupert”, we provide below.
Port Rupert, British Columbia: A Fresh Start World Trade Magazine February 2, 2008
Port Rupert, British Columbia: A Fresh StartOne approach—which few are in a position to undertake—is to start pretty much from scratch.
That is the general story of Port Rupert in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, some 500 miles north of Vancouver. On October 31, 2007, the COSCO container ship “Antwerp” became the first to land at Port Rupert’s Fairview Terminal, recently converted from break bulk to container capability.
While that converted terminal provides an immediate annual capacity of 500,000 TEUs, Port Rupert officials see a much bigger number in their future. By 2015, they expect trade through their port to mount to over 4 million TEUs annually.
Barry Bartlett, communications director for the port, cites three advantages: Due to its location on Great Circle lines, the sea voyage from Asia to Port Rupert is a day faster than to Vancouver and nearly three days faster than to Los Angeles/Long Beach; Port Rupert has the deepest natural harbor on North America’s West Coast—at low tide, the port offers a minimum depth of 62 feet without dredging; and third, Bartlett adds, starting from scratch has allowed for design of a “truck free” ship-to-rail transfer system. Offloaded containers are carried less than 200 yards to the Canadian National intermodal loading facility.
The new service represents an alliance struck by the port with COSCO, NYK Line, Yang Ming and Hanjin.
Lawrence Cannon, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities hailed his appointment as “another step towards achieving our government's commitment to a timely long-term solution to First Nations concerns with Prince Rupert's container terminal projects."
David Emerson, who wore his trio of hats of Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics, emphasized the partnership aspect of future development for Fairview. "Partnership was key to the new terminal being built and itwill continue to drive the development of the Port of Prince Rupert in the future."
Mr. Eyford is a litigation partner with a Vancouver law firmand has specialized in practicing in civil litigation and alternative dispute resolution. He would appear to bring a great deal of experience in these types of negotiations, so his appointment perhaps could be viewed as a positive step forward in the process.
He has most recently been employed with the Federal Government’s acting as a chief federal negotiator. He brings a long list of experience in arbitration, mediation and consultation in both British Columbia and Manitoba.
The Fairview Port dispute has centered around First Nations concerns about accommodation and consultation regarding further development of Phases II and beyond of the Container terminal.
First made public back in May of 2007 during the construction of the first phase, the issue has been working its way through the Federal courts over the last year or so.
The appointment of a federal negotiator perhaps signals the intent of the Federal Government to speed up the process and bring some final resolution to the dispute, before the issues become a potential roadblock to future development of the port.
It will be interesting to see how the local First Nation governments approach the announcement and how it may impact on the state of proceedings as far as their concerns and wishes go. There have been no shortage of appointments made in the past and most of the talks that have taken place haven't led to a resoultion yet.
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No details were given as to when Mr. Eyford plans on meeting with the First Nations of the area, or what process will take place to try and resolve the outstanding issues of the day.
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