CFOA CEO Serge Buy was interviewed by CBC New Brunswick regarding the new ferry for the Saint John-Digby route.
Watch now, click here.
November 30, 2014
A special keel-laying was held on November 28 at Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards, North Vancouver for the new cable ferry ordered by BC Ferries, the customer said in its press release.
Once complete, the cable ferry will measure 78.5 metres long and will accommodate 50 vehicles and 150 passengers and crew. After undergoing extensive crew training and familiarization, the cable ferry system is expected to be in operation on the Buckley Bay – Denman Island route in the summer of 2015.
In keeping with maritime tradition, today’s ceremony was marked by the placing of a silver bullion coin into the vessel to mark the official laying of the vessel’s keel. This special coin will permanently remain in place in the vessel for its service life.
Under contract to the Province of British Columbia, BC Ferries is the service provider responsible for the delivery of safe, efficient and dependable ferry service along coastal British Columbia.
BC Ferries is one of the largest ferry operators in the world, providing year-round vehicle and passenger service on 25 routes to 47 terminals, with a fleet of 35 vessels. In April 2003, BC Ferries was transformed from a Crown corporation into an independent, commercial organization under the Company Act. Our Company is governed by an independent Board of Directors appointed by the B.C. Ferry Authority.
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N.L. taxpayers could be on hook for $25-million levy on 2 new ships
November 29, 2014 - CBC
A national association for ferry operators says Ottawa should get rid of a tariff on new passenger vessels imported into the country.
As CBC Investigates revealed this week, taxpayers in Newfoundland and Labrador could be on the hook for a federal levy of $25 million when two new ferries are delivered within a year or so.
But Serge Buy, CEO of the Canadian Ferry Association, says the tariff no longer serves a useful purpose.
“We need to rethink this strategy, and the government needs to change the tariff — actually, cancel the tariff — right now,” Buy said.
Buy says the Canadian shipyards the tariff is meant to protect are doing well, as they have received significant support from Ottawa through the federal procurement system.
The 25-per-cent tariff applies to smaller ferries, under 129 metres, imported into the country.
Four years ago, Ottawa rolled back the tariff on bigger ships. But smaller ones still get hit with the duty.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is buying two new smaller ferries from Europe, to serve Bell Island and the Fogo Island/Change Islands run.
The total cost is just over $100 million. But unless the province can convince Ottawa to waive the tariff, Newfoundland and Labrador taxpayers will have to pay another $25 million in federal duties when the vessels are delivered.
Buy says that's not fair.
"Our statement is simple: why would taxpayers of Newfoundland, why would fare-payers who go on ships right now in Newfoundland and Labrador, have to pay extra amount just to support something that doesn't need the support right now," Buy said.
The province has applied to Ottawa to have the tariff waived. Transportation Minister David Brazil told CBC Investigates this week he is confident that will happen.
Buy says he doesn’t know exactly how many waiver requests are successful. “I would think it’s very, very low.”
The association is lobbying to have the tariff removed on all ferries imported into the country.
Read more, click here.
CBC - November 28, 2014
The Liberals and New Democrats grilled the Tory government in the House of Assembly Thursday about a federal tariff that could result in a $25-million hit to the provincial treasury.
CBC Investigates revealed that the province is on the hook for the levy, unless it can convince Ottawa to waive it — something that has only ever happened once for the same class of vessels.
The government won’t say whether other unsuccessful bids from countries that aren’t subject to the 25-per-cent tariff would have cost taxpayers less.
Liberal MHA Tom Osborne led off question period.
“Last November, the minister of transportation confirmed at the announcement of a new ferry vessel that tariffs were included in the $51-million cost,” Osborne said.
“He reconfirmed that in this house on Dec. 2, less than a month later. Today it is a different story. I ask the minister: Will you now confirm that if the federal government does not waive the $25 million in tariffs that the contract bid for the two new ferries was not in fact the lowest bid?”
Transportation Minister David Brazil replied.
“We have a responsibility, this administration does, to provide vessels that provide the service to the people in this province — safe, reliable vessels that are state-of-the art,” Brazil said. “Mr. Speaker, it is this administration that put in the first ferry replacement strategy in this province's history. We’ve done that.”
Osborne tried again.
“Mr. Speaker, that did not in any way answer the question that I asked so I will ask it again,” Osborne said.
“If the federal government does not waive the $25 million in tariffs on these two new vessels will he confirm that the awarded contract is not in fact the lowest bids on these two vessels?”
Brazil acknowledged that his first response did not answer Osborne’s question, but instead outlined the Tory government’s commitment to provide services.
“We announced that we would pay $100 million to Damen Shipyards because they have an expertise second-to-none in this world, to be able to provide services and that is what we have contracted,” Brazil said.
“We are confident that that tariff will be waived. There is precedent already set. My officials and the officials in other departments are working with the federal officials. If I feel that’s not moving fast enough I will intercede with the federal minister. If then it is still felt that it is not moving fast enough the premier will intercede.”
Later in question period, NDP MHA George Murphy took up the attack.
“A media report today tells us that taxpayers in this province may be dinged by a $25-million federal tariff for ferries that are being built outside the country, specifically in Romania,” Murphy said.
“This government claims openness and transparency. Why won't the minister release the unsuccessful bids to prove that government made a good deal for the taxpayers of this province?”
Brazil defended the process that led to the selection of the winning bidder.
“The tariffs that are being levied on this will be removed,” Brazil said. “There will be no tariffs coming here, we are confident in that.”
Nearly a third of the time alloted for Thursday’s question period was dedicated to questions about the ferry tariff.
The province announced the award of the two ferry contracts to Damen Shipyards of the Netherlands a year ago. The vessels are being built at a yard in Galati, Romania.
The new Fogo Island/Change Islands ferry is scheduled for delivery in September 2015, while the Bell Island sister ship will follow in February 2016.
The tariff is payable when the ships are delivered, unless Ottawa grants the province’s waiver request.
Read more, click here.
Hellenic Shipping News - November 28, 2014
FortisBC announced that it will provide $5 million in incentive funding toward two new vessels for Seaspan Ferries that will be able to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The incentives were made possible following the creation of the Government of B.C.’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction regulation in 2012 when FortisBC announced the $62 million program for fleet operators to offset part of the cost for a natural gas engine over a diesel engine.
“Our government supports these incentives which decrease operating costs, support the province’s growing LNG sector and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett. “With the expansion of FortisBC’s Tilbury LNG facility now underway, I look forward to seeing more agreements like this in the months and years ahead.”
The funding agreement with Seaspan will result in the reduction of an estimated 5,450 metric tonnes per year of carbon emissions, the equivalent of taking more than 1,140 passenger cars off the road annually, because natural gas is cleaner burning than traditional marine diesel fuel. Seaspan has also agreed to a fuelling agreement of up to 200,000 gigajoules of LNG per year which will come from FortisBC’s Tilbury LNG facility in Delta.
“B.C. has more natural gas fuelled vehicles in our province as a result of this incentive program than anywhere else in Canada,” said Doug Stout, FortisBC Vice-President of Market Development and External Relations. “The funding for these two marine vessels helps add to that tally, and it’s further good news that Seaspan has chosen to get its LNG from FortisBC.”
In 2014, Seaspan Ferries began shipping LNG in ISO containers from FortisBC’s Tilbury facility for use by natural gas for transportation customers on Vancouver Island.
Seaspan is an association of Canadian companies involved in coastal marine transportation, shipdocking and ship escort, ship repair and shipbuilding services in Western North America. The two new 150 metre ferries will accommodate up to 59 truck trailers.
“Switching to LNG is a natural progression for us,” said Steve Roth, Seaspan Ferries Corporation Vice-President. “Since two of Seaspan’s core values are efficiency and care, we are extremely pleased that moving to LNG will both reduce fuel costs and provide environmental benefits. FortisBC provided the expertise to help us discover the best fuel alternative for our ferry fleet.”
To date, the incentive program has resulted in 400 natural gas vehicles on the road or vessels in the water, eliminating 38,000 metric tonnes of carbon emissions annually, the equivalent of taking 8,000 vehicles off the road each year. To date, FortisBC has signed agreements for $28 million in incentive funding for land vehicles and marine vessels.
To meet increased market demand for LNG, FortisBC has broken ground on a $400-million expansion of its Tilbury LNG facility in Delta which will add 1.1 million gigajoules of LNG storage and approximately 34,000 gigajoules of liquefaction capacity per day. The existing Tilbury LNG facility has been in operation since 1971.
The additional volumes of natural gas for transportation moving through FortisBC’s pipeline system benefit all natural gas customers. Better year-round utilization of FortisBC’s infrastructure, especially during the summer months when heating requirements are reduced, helps to keep natural gas delivery rates stable.
Read more, click here.
November 28, 2014
After a long journey from Singapore and and undergoing sea trials and crew training all fall, the Burrard Otter II is ready to set out on the open seas on Monday, December 1 for its maiden voyage!
Want to be one of the first customers to ride the Burrard Otter II? It will make its first sailing from Waterfront Station at 11 am on Monday! Regular fares apply.
The Burrard Otter II replaces the original Otter and will share duties with the Burrard Pacific Breeze, which made its maiden voyage on December 23, 2009.
The original Otter, which went into service nearly forty years ago when SeaBus operations began, will head off into retirement once the other SeaBus – the Burrard Beaver – is retrofitted to be used as a spare vessel.
The updated design of the Burrard Otter II makes the vessel more efficient and easier on the environment. The new SeaBus uses less fuel and produces 20 per cent less carbon dioxide than older vessels. The Burrard Otter II also surpasses marine standards and reduces carbon monoxide emissions by 90 per cent, hydro carbons by 70 per cent and visual smoke by 25 per cent.
The Burrard Otter II cost approximately $21 million to build, of which $19 million was provided by theGovernment of Canada through the Gas Tax Fundallocated by the Union of BC Municipalities. TransLink contributed the remaining $2 million.
SeaBus has provided safe, reliable and efficient service between downtown Vancouver and the North Shore since 1977. Over six million passengers cross the Burrard Inlet on SeaBus every year, or 16,600 people per day.
CBC - November 27, 2014
Newfoundland and Labrador taxpayers will be on the hook for more than $25 million in additional payments over and above the announced $100-million cost of two new ferries to service the Bell Island and FogoIsland/Change Islands runs, unless the province can convince Ottawa to waive a significant tariff payable when the new vessels are delivered.
Provincial government officials are downplaying any concerns, saying such exemptions are routine.
"We're confident we have a good argument there," Transportation Minister David Brazil said in an interview. “There’s a process. There’s been no pushback from the feds.”
But CBC Investigates has learned that only one ferry of a similar size has ever received such a waiver from Ottawa — and that was largely because it was bought to replace another ship that had actually sunk.
The 25-per-cent federal duty does not appear to have been referenced in any of the Newfoundland and Labrador government’s public announcements about the purchase of the two ships.
But Brazil insists that the deal is a good one, even if the federal tariff of more than $25 million ends up being added to the announced total of $100 million. He says the deal was analyzed with that in mind.
"We didn't go on the $50-million price range [per ship],” he said.
“We went on the $63- to $64-million price range [per ship] when we did the evaluation. So doing that evaluation, we still were confident that Damen were the best shipyard to build the vessel that we wanted."
The province won’t release any of the details of the unsuccessful bids, saying that information is commercially sensitive.
Some of those bidders are either located in Canada, or in countries that have free-trade agreements with Canada, such as the United States and Chile. The 25-per-cent duty does not apply in those cases.
The province won’t directly say whether taxpayers could have gotten the ships cheaper from one of those other yards.
“Tariffs out, Damen was as competitive, maybe better, than all involved here,” Brazil said. “With the tariffs in, we still are confident we’re getting a superior product that will service the people of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.”
The number that matters, Brazil stresses, is the final cost of the contract that has been signed.
"We've released what it's going to cost the taxpayers. There's nothing hidden there. The taxpayers, I would think, would only worry about, at the end of the day, what it's going to cost them."
And cost, he notes, is not the only factor.
“What we’ve gone with is a quality product, and that’s more important to the people here," the minister said.
“It’s about the product itself, and the quality of service, and the reliability for the next 25 to 40 years, and having a vessel that we can rely on."
The province has already applied to have the tariff fees waived.
That request has yet to be approved, but Brazil says he believes it will be.
"Precedent's been set, that BC Ferries have had it waived,” he said. “We're confident that we can have this done."
BC Ferries has had the tariff waived in recent years. However, most of those cases involved a different class of ferries than those being bought for use in Newfoundland and Labrador.
In 2010, Ottawa changed the tariff regulations to offer a blanket exemption to large ferries — over 129 metres — along with tankers and cargo vessels.
As part of that announcement, the feds waived nearly $120 million in duties paid by BC Ferries to acquire four large-sized ferries from Germany between 2007 and 2009.
However, Ottawa says only one such request has ever been granted for a ferry under 129 metres. The new Fogo and Bell Island vessels, at 80 metres, fall into that category.
That sole successful remission request, according to Department of Finance spokeswoman Stephanie Rubec, was “provided in exceptional circumstances.”
In 2006, the Queen of the North sank off British Columbia’s Central Coast.
BC Ferries bought a replacement vessel — the MV Sonia, rechristened MV Northern Adventure — to replace the sunken ferry. Ottawa agreed to waive $13 million in tariffs.
In the regulatory analysis impact statement published with the remission order in 2007, the feds noted that the importation of the MV Sonia allowed BC Ferries to “restore essential transportation services,” as a new-build vessel would have taken years to be delivered.
Today, BC Ferries is currently in the process of buying three LNG-powered intermediate-class vessels, under 129 metres, from a yard in Poland.
In contrast to Newfoundland and Labrador, which has not made any apparent public mention of federal tariff costs, BC Ferries said this summer it has budgeted $51 million for Canadian import taxes and duties for those new ferry buys.
A year ago, the province announced the award of the two ferry contracts to Damen Shipyards of the Netherlands. The vessels are being built at a yard in Romania.
The new Fogo Island/Change Islands ferry is scheduled for delivery in September 2015, while the Bell Island sister ship will follow in February 2016.
The tariff is payable when the ships are delivered, unless Ottawa grants the province’s remission request.
The federal Department of Finance says it generally doesn't comment on specific requests for relief.
Read more, click here.
CTV Atlantic - November 27, 2014
A new ferry is due to arrive in the Maritimes in a matter of days, but some worry about the chosen ship’s ability to handle the all-important commercial traffic between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
The new ferry – a $45-million purchase by the federal government – came from the Greek islands and will replace MV Princess of Acadia on the Digby, N.S. to Saint John run.
The vessel is faster than the old ferry and can accommodate more cars and passengers, but fewer trucks.
Horst Puff, a trucker hauling a load of Christmas trees from Nova Scotia to Rhode Island, said the ferry service saves truckers time and money.
“We have lots of runs of Christmas trees down to the States, down to New England states, down to Virginia Beach and so on, so it saves us … in one round trip up to 14 hours driving,” Horst said.
Truckers fear that during peak times, such as when they’re moving Nova Scotia seafood, some trucks will get left behind.
“There could be 20 to 25 (trucks) there on a busy day,” said trucker Chad Melanson.
“If there’s a lot of car traffic, well then the trucks don’t get to go on right, so it makes it hard to make a living there when we have to drive around with one driver.”
Saint John MP Rodney Weston told CTV News on Thursday the new ferry will meet the needs of both tourists and truckers the vast majority of the time.
He said when there’s heavy demand from the trucking industry, extra crossings will be considered.
Truckers say Nova Scotia’s fishing industry depends on it.
“It if handles less trucks, in the busy season, in the lobster season, they should run twice a day,” said trucker Brian Wentzell.
The new ferry is currently making its way across the Atlantic Ocean, and is expected to arrive in Saint John early next week.
From there, it will go to Digby for an extensive refit.
The new ferry is expected to go into service in time for next year’s tourism season, but a specific date has yet to be announced.
Read more, click here.
Times Colonist - November 25, 2014
VICTORIA - BC Ferries plans to convert its two largest vessels to liquefied natural gas in an effort to save fuel costs after sinking $126 million into marine diesel fuel last year.
The company announced Tuesday that it has the BC Ferries commissioner's approval to upgrade the Swartz Bay-to-Tsawwassen route ships.
BC Ferries says it expects to save about $9.2 million annually by switching the two Spirit Class vessels to LNG because they account for 15 per cent of the fleet's total fuel consumption.
It also has plans to build three dual-fuel vessels for the southern Gulf Islands and the Powell River-to-Comox route, with completion set for 2017.
The company says all five vessels are set to be operational by 2018, with the Spirit of Vancouver Island upgrades expected to be finished before those of the Spirit of British Columbia.
BC Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall says the cost of the projects is not yet known and that contracts are expected to be awarded next year.
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Ship & Bunker - November 25, 2014
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee's (MSC94) decision to set in place new rules on the location of fuel tanks on liquefied natural gas-powered ships will "safeguard further development of the LNG option," Interferry has said in an emailed statement.
The international ferry association said that it welcomed the new rules approved by MSC94, which will see ships either adopt the same standards for tank placement as large LNG tankers, or be able to place tanks closer to the hull, provided that design alterations to the tanks are made.
The rules were put in place to minimize the fire hazards of LNG in case of collision or grounding, which is more of a risk among LNG-powered ships, as LNG required larger tank systems.
Previous rules had tank position determined through various calculation models, but faced opposition from ship designers and owners, who claimed that the space restrictions meant that ships would have to refuel at every port of call.
"While we strongly advocate safe designs and solutions, we also support the development of new technologies that will help increase the sustainability of our industry," said Interferry regulatory affairs director Johan Roos.
"The IMO decision provides a predictable framework for the protection of LNG tanks and removes concerns over rules that in effect would have made LNG non-accessible as a fuel for ferries due to too restrictive requirements on tank location and size."
It was previously reported that LNG as a fuel has had a large impact on ship design, given its lower density and its need to be stored at cryogenic temperatures.
Read more, click here.