Tag: <span>Maritime</span>

Port of Vancouver stakeholders expect they will have to navigate at least three more weeks of congestion as Canada’s largest port works to clear a backlog of rail containers that built up in December.

A confluence of factors — including vessel bunching at Asian load ports, a pre-Lunar New Year cargo surge, a strike by dockworker foremen in November and shorter trains due to winter operating conditions — combined to cause congestion at the port and reduce Vancouver’s railcar availability last month. As a result, the average rail container dwell time at the port’s four container terminals spiked to 6.9 days in December — the highest since last March – and up from 5.2 days in November and 4.5 days in October, according to data on the port’s website.

“We are seeing an increase in the number of vessels waiting to enter the Port of Vancouver due to arrival delays associated with winter weather in Asia and the seasonal pre-Lunar New Year impact causing a surge in volume,” a spokesperson for the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority told the Journal of Commerce Wednesday. “As such, we anticipate that high on-dock times will continue for the rest of January.”

Terminal operators and the railroads say they are chipping away at the rail container backlog and note conditions will improve further at the end of the month when import volumes are expected to drop significantly due to many factories in Asia closing for a week or two for the Lunar New Year celebrations that start Jan. 29.

Train restrictions during Canadian cold snap

Canadian National Railway (CN) in December was already recovering from a backlog of rail containers from the dockworkers’ strike and vessel bunching when a cold snap in Western Canada resulted in operating restrictions, including running shorter trains, that impacted CN’s network velocity, a CN spokesperson told the Journal of Commerce.

“CN is working closely with the port operators to clear out these volumes as the vessel discharge normalizes over the next three weeks,” a spokesperson for the railroad said. “We are already seeing some improvements and are confident that the dwell metric will fall back to normal levels as we catch up on the backlog over the next few weeks.”

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) said Thursday its railcars are cycling efficiently through its network and that the supply of cars is good. Demand is forecast to remain strong through January, a CPKC spokesperson said.

DP World Canada, which operates the Centerm terminal in Vancouver, said it is working with the railroads to handle the increased import volumes leading up to the Lunar New Year on Jan. 29.

“We should be back to normal in a few weeks,” said CEO Doug Smith.

Meanwhile, the elevated rail container dwell times at the marine terminals have not had an impact on drayage operations in Vancouver, said David Earle, CEO of the British Columbia Trucking Association. The only change Earle said he’s noted in recent days is that a small number of inbound containers that had been booked to leave the terminals by rail are being redirected to long-haul truckers for movement inland.

Prince Rupert back to normal

The Port of Prince Rupert, which faced challenges similar to Vancouver last month, saw its rail container dwell times spike to an average of nearly 10 days in mid-December, said Brian Friesen, vice president of trade development at the port. The average dwell dropped to 6.1 days for the week of Dec. 20 and has continued to slide in January.

“The dwells are now below two days,” Friesen said. “It’s all fluid now.”

Source:

Mongelluzzo, B. (2025, January 9). Vancouver braces for congestion, High Rail dwells through January. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/vancouver-braces-for-congestion-high-rail-dwells-through-january-5919982

Canada’s Labor Minister on Tuesday took direct action to end coast-to-coast port closures by ordering binding arbitration in contract disputes between maritime employers and longshore workers, forcing ports to reopen.

Steve MacKinnon said in a statement that he has invoked authority under Canada’s labor code that will force longshore unions in British Columbia and Montreal and their respective employer groups to come to terms on new collective bargaining agreements with the aid of a government arbitrator.

In advance of the arbitration proceedings, MacKinnon also said his agency will order the reopening of ports in those jurisdictions, with previously expired longshore contracts being extended in the interim.

“I have directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board [CIRB] to order the resumption of all operations and functions at the ports, and to assist the parties by imposing final and binding arbitration,” MacKinnon said. “I have also directed the board to extend the term of the existing collective agreements until new ones are reached.”

MacKinnon’s move will end a nearly two-week work stoppage at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert after the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) locked out members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 after its vote for a strike.

The BCMEA tried to end the lockout this weekend through direct talks with Local 514 overseen by government mediators, but those talks did not result in a deal. Maritime employers there have offered Local 514 a 19.2% wage increase over four years, along with a one-time lump sum payment of C$21,000 and a boost to other existing benefits.

The BCMEA said in a statement Tuesday that it “intends to follow direction received from the CIRB and will inform member employers of operational updates as soon as possible.”

“We look forward to safely resuming operations across Canada’s West Coast ports,” the group said.

The coast-to-coast port closures have delayed the discharge and loading of ocean freight and forced Canada’s two main railroads to halt intermodal operations at the affected ports. But there does not appear to be any major disruptions in terms of a high number of anchored ships or severe backlogs at the ports.

Maersk said last week that vessels in its TP1 service to Canada’s west coast have remained at berth in Vancouver and Prince Rupert, with other scheduled vessels still en route to both ports. It said that vessels in the carrier’s Canada Express Service, which is jointly operated with CMA CGM, also remain en route to Montreal.

Hapag-Lloyd said in an advisory Tuesday that it has three ships at berth in Montreal currently, with two idling at anchorage in the Saint Lawrence River awaiting the port’s reopening. On the west coast, one ship in THE Alliance’s PN3 service remains at berth in Vancouver, with vessels in other services awaiting a berth. Another vessel in THE Alliance’s PN4 service is waiting outside of Prince Rupert for an available berth, the carrier said.

Details please refer to the JOC news.

Source:

Angell, M. (2024h, November 12). BC, Montreal ports set to reopen under orders from Canada’s Labor chief. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/bc-montreal-ports-set-to-reopen-under-orders-from-canadas-labor-chief-5792214

A growing number of container ships on Tuesday were waiting out the labor lockout at British Columbia ports in hopes of a speedy resolution. Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, the strike at marine terminals in Montreal is halting all rail service at that port.

Maersk said in an advisory that two ships in its TP1 service, the 6,350-TEU Marcos V and the 8,714-TEU San Felipe, are currently at anchorage at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, respectively. A third ship, the 5,085-TEU Seattle Express, is still expected to call Vancouver’s Fraser Surrey terminal this week, with any change in its rotation contingent upon the duration of the port’s closure.

Container terminals at Vancouver and Prince Rupert were effectively shuttered after the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association locked out members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 following a strike vote by its members. The strike by longshore foremen began Monday morning.

The two sides remain at odds over terms of a new contract as well as the implementation of new technology at DP World’s Vancouver terminal. The prior contract expired in March 2023.

Management is still onsite at Vancouver terminals monitoring refrigerated containers, according to a person familiar with the issue, but truck gates and berth operations are halted. Vancouver is Canada’s largest container terminal.

The 12,726-TEU YM Target remains at berth at Vancouver’s Deltaport, with initial plans to wait out the work stoppage, the source added. Three other container ships are at anchorage outside of Vancouver, while the 4,250-TEU Cosco Auckland remains at berth at Prince Rupert.

The backlog of ships, though, may grow. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority said Tuesday that seven container ships have requested an anchorage at the port.

While trying to maintain vessel schedules, Maersk is offering shippers relief from any charges associated with the work stoppage. It has suspended demurrage and export container detention across British Columbia ports, but Maersk said it is “still maintaining certain conditions for import detention.” The carrier said it will also open off-dock empty return locations for containers.

The work stoppage along Canada’s West Coast has also shut down rail operations. Canadian National Railway (CN) suspended westbound rail service to British Columbia ports, with Canadian Pacific-Kansas City (CPKC) also stopping acceptance of export and empty containers for British Columbia.

CN suspends Montreal service

The shutdown of Canada’s West Coast ports comes as longshore workers affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 375 stage an indefinite strike against two marine terminals operated by Termont in Montreal.

The Termont strike is also forcing CN to suspend all rail service in and out of Montreal, including at the Racine and Cast terminals operated by Montreal Gateway Terminals, which are not affected by the strike, Hapag-Lloyd said in an advisory Tuesday. The suspension also includes interchange services with CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern in the Ohio Valley.

“This action is due to operational constraints and uncertainty arising from the ongoing renewal of the Montreal longshoremen collective agreement,” Hapag-Lloyd said. “As a result, CN will suspend and remove all capacity at their inland terminals for exports destined for Cast and Racine until further notice.”

Separately, Montreal’s Maritime Employers Association (MEA) started suspending salary guarantees for striking longshore workers Tuesday, saying it was necessary to “reduce the cumulative financial impact of repeated strikes and lower volumes at the Port of Montreal.”

Source:

Angell, M. (2024, November 5). BC container ports set for shutdown after foremen begin strike. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/bc-container-ports-set-for-shutdown-after-foremen-begin-strike-5785499