Newsletter – February 1, 2023

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Vancouver port moves a step closer to getting new terminal

splash247.com
Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s minister of environment and climate change, informed the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) last week of his determination that information provided by the VFPA has satisfied a request for additional details regarding potential effects of the proposed Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project on fish and fish habitat, salinity and Indigenous people. Read more here.

New liner company readies to launch from Florida

splash247.com
The United States has a new containerline. On Friday, Florida-based Oceanus Line will launch a service linking the US with Mexico and Colombia, according to Alphaliner.
The fortnightly Florida Gulf Express will call at Port Manatee, Freeport and Cartagena, with Alphaliner suggesting the new company will be using the 1,674 teu X-Press Cotopaxi for the service. Read more here.

Cross-alliance cooperation on the increase as market weakens

theloadstar.com
Ocean carriers are pulling capacity from Chinese export routes and redeploying the ships to more robust tradelanes with growth potential.
Moreover, the weakness in the Chinese market is prompting more discussions on carrier slot swap agreements between rival alliances. Read more here (login required).

India to build $5bn Bay of Bengal container transshipment terminal

splash247.com
India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has announced that the country will build a new container transshipment terminal, the Galathea Bay Transshipment Port. In a statement, the ministry said a transshipment hub in India would “attract Indian and regional transshipment traffic from the current hubs, save significant revenue loss, reduce logistics inefficiencies for Indian trade, reduce risks to the country’s export competitiveness and create an opportunity for India to become a large hub for Asia-Africa, Asia-US/Europe container traffic trade.” Read more here.  

GROUND & RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

VIA Rail CEO tells MPs climate change is leaving transport networks vulnerable

globalnews.ca
Climate change is posing a threat to Canada’s transportation network, VIA Rail’s top executive said Thursday to MPs examining severe travel delays that played out over the holidays.
Martin R. Landry, interim president and chief executive officer of VIA Rail, told the House of Commons Transport, Infrastructure and Communities committee that the winter storm, which swept across Ontario and Quebec between Dec. 23 and 26, severely impacted its operations in the region. VIA Rail also had failures of its own that contributed to the poor service, Landry added. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Import Certificates to be Required for All Organic Products

strtrade.com
The Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service has issued a final rule amending its regulations to strengthen oversight and enforcement of the production, handling, and sale of organic agricultural products. Compliance with this rule, which AMS chief Jenny Lester Moffitt called “the biggest update to the organic regulations since the original act in 1990,” will be required beginning March 19, 2024. Read more here.