Industry News And Updates:
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Story 1)  West Sacramento Tidal Station Update January 1st 2025 - November 06, 2024

Story 2)  Deal Reached between VTEA and Grain Workers Union - September 27th, 2024

Story 3)  ILA STRIKE - NEW ORLEANS - September 27th, 2024

Story 4)  Modifications to the Panama Canal Transit Reservation (Booking) System - September 17th, 2024

Story 5)  Vancouver Terminal Elevator Association and Grain Workers' Union Negotiation Update - September 10th, 2024

Story 6)  Port of West Sacramento, CA - Tidal Decommissioning / Draft Reduction - September 10, 2024

West Sacramento Tidal Station Update - January 1st 2025 Draft Reduction

To: All Vessel Owners/Operators/Charterers/Receivers Calling the Port of West Sacramento, CA
Re: West Sacramento Tidal Station Update

Good day all,

As most of you are aware, the Port of West Sacramento will be experiencing a reduction in maximum draft come January 1, 2025, as pilots and stakeholders eagerly await the installation of a new NOAA approved tidal station. This new station will allow pilots to accurately measure water levers in the port on any given day, in addition to providing forecasted maximum arrival drafts many weeks in advance that we are all accustomed to receiving. The pilots have informed all industry stakeholders that they will be reducing the controlling depth to 27.3 feet fresh water as of January 1, 2025, until such time that the new tide station is installed AND operational. We wish to provide the following update.

We met with the pilots and port on Nov 5 to discuss updates on this project. The good news is the Port of West Sacramento has secured and signed an agreement with a contractor to complete this work. The not so good news is that the port advises likely timeline for installation is now “June to July 2025 range.” This is far later than the previously reported Q1 2025 timeframe. The port assures us that this is the fastest timeline they can presently accomplish same. The NOAA representative on the line also stated that it will take a minimum of 30 days after installation for start-up and diagnostic testing to be completed, before the station can be used in any real capacity. Thus we could be looking at July/August 2025 range before the pilots have any reliable data that will allow them to consider raising the draft limit back to its normal controlling depth of 29.1 feet. I would like to be very clear that we do not yet know with certainty what the pilot’s policy on draft will be once the new station is operational. The pilots have stated they will need several months of data collection after operational, before they can calculate the predicted maximum arrival draft tables that we currently receive 6 weeks ahead of time. Yet they have also stated that they will be able to confirm water depth and safe maximum arrival drafts in real time once the station is operational, and will be able to confirm safe transit to Sacramento on any given date of transit. I would presume this to mean that normal transits of 29.4 feet will be acceptable once the station is operational, subject to final confirmation on the date of transit, however, this is only my presumption. The pilots have not yet stated their final position in this regard. For this reason, we are currently unable to guarantee any draft limit on any given date at this time and owners/charterers/receivers should proceed as such when booking cargoes for 2025. The only fact we know at present, is that the draft will be reduced to 27.3 feet on January 1, 2025, until further notice.

We will continue to keep in contact with the pilots and the port and keep all stakeholders closely informed. If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact this office.

As a reminder, this matter only impacts the Port of West Sacramento. The Port of Stockton, CA is not impacted, and will continue operations as normal.

With Best Regards,
Evan Jones / Chief Operating Officer
stkops@gensteam.com

Deal reached between VTEA and Grain Workers Union

Good day,

Please find below positive news RE: Vancouver Grain Workers Strike Courtesy of Wheelhouse Shipping Co.

The Vancouver Terminal Elevators Association (VTEA) and the Grain Workers Union (GWU) local 333 have settled on terms for a new collective agreement that will run through to December 31, 2027. The agreement was reached through work completed under the guidance of Mr. Peter Simpson, the Director General of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Terminals are expected to reopen as early as the dayshift tomorrow, September 28th. The new agreement is subject to a ratification vote by October 4, 2024.

ILA STRIKE - NEW ORLEANS

We would like to share the latest impact on the ILA strike for the Port of New Orleans.
We have received the following from Ports America Stevedores.

Quote

Non-Container (Breakbulk) work at the Ports America Louisiana Terminal in New Orleans, LA
In the event of a strike by the ILA on October 1, 2024, the Union has advised that all crafts, including longshoremen whose wages are not covered by the USMX Master Agreement, will stand in solidarity with the ILA for a period of up to 72 hours. If the ILA strikes on October 1, breakbulk operations including vessel loading/discharging and terminal handling will be suspended, and the terminal will be closed for a duration of up to three days beginning Oct 1, 2024, at 1200 am. Trucks will not be allowed into the terminal during this time.

Demurrage/storage charges for cargo stored on our terminals will be paused during the period when the terminal is closed, and will resume on the date when the terminal re-opens and labor is available for breakbulk cargo operations to resume. If cargo is in Day 1 of a demurrage/storage period when the strike begins, Day 2 will begin when the terminal reopens. If cargo is in free time and the free time ends during the strike period, the free time will be extended for the number of days that the terminal is closed.

Unquote

This only pertains to break-bulk cargoes and does not affect any bulk cargo transactions with the Port of New Orleans.

Modifications to the Panama Canal Transit Reservation (Booking) System

The Panama Canal Authority announces modifications to the Transit Reservation (Booking) System rules for the slot allocation to Panamax Plus vessels, the Transit Date Advancement Service and the In-Transit Time (ITT) for booked vessels.

Effective September 18, 2024, after the Neopanamax 2nd period tiebreaker competition, if the conditioned slot has not been allocated for booking dates beginning October 2, 2024, the slot will be offer through a special auction to Panamax Plus or Neopanamax vessel during the Booking Period 2. If the slot was not awarded through this auction, it will be carried over to the Booking Period 3. The minimum bid amount for the auction will be one hundred thousand US dollars. The requirements for the conditioned slots may be found in the Notice to Shipping N-07-2024. Panamax Plus vessels may also obtain booking slots through auction in the Booking Period 3 as previously published. The rule published in the Advisory A-19-2024 regarding the limitation of one Panamax Plus per transit date remains in effect.

In reference to the Transit Date Advancement, the service will be considered as having been provided once the vessel arrives at the first set of locks on the approved date for the Transit date Advancement, regardless of the In-transit-time (ITT).

Additionally, for transit dates beginning October 1, 2024, vessels from all three categories with an approved Transit Date Advancement will have the following arrival time requirements:

• For Neopanamax and Panamax Plus vessels, the required arrival time is 2200 hours of the day prior to the Transit Date Advancement. For Neopanamax LNG carriers, the required arrival time is 0200 hours of the day of the Transit Date Advancement.
• For Supers and Regular vessels with restrictions, the required arrival time is 0200 hours of the day of the Transit Date Advancement. For booking dates beginning January 1, 2025, the required arrival time will be 2200 hours of the day prior to the Transit Date Advancement.
• For Regular vessels without restrictions, the required arrival time is 1400 hours of the day of the Transit Date Advancement.

Vessels that fail to arrive at the Canal terminal by the required arrival time will be assessed a forfeiture fee and may elect to maintain their Transit Date Advancement by requesting the late arrival option, subject to the payment of an additional fee as per Official Maritime Services Tariff. A Transit Date Advancement may be canceled without charge or may waive assessment of a penalty fee if the vessel’s late arrival was due to the reasons mentioned in article 30 of the Regulation on Navigation in Panama Canal waters, and further explained in the Notice to Shipping N-07-2024.

Effective with tiebreaker competition at the opening of Booking Period 1 on October 3, 2024, for booking dates beginning January 1, 2025, the maximum In-Transit Time (ITT) will be 24 hours, except as determined otherwise by the ACP. Vessels with booking slots awarded through the Long-Term Slot Allocation (LoTSA) Methodology will maintain the 18-hour ITT rule.

For any inquiries, please contact: operationservices@pancanal.com

Direct Link to Full Advisory

Vancouver Terminal Elevator Association and Grain Workers' Union Negotiation Update - September 10th

Good day,

The Vancouver Terminal Elevator Association (VTEA) as the employer bargaining unit for the Vancouver Grain terminals has been negotiating with the Grain Workers’ Union (GWU) since November 2023.

The employer group of the VTEA is also represented by the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA). The VTEA and GWU concluded conciliation with the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) on August 26th, without a collective agreement. On September 3rd the VTEA requested in writing that the Minister of Labour invoke section 108.1(1) of the Canada Labour Code for a directed vote by the Grain Workers' union members, on a very reasonable offer. The GWU could be in a legal strike position as early as 00:01 on September 17th.

We will keep monitoring the situation and relay regular updates with any new developments.

Port of West Sacramento, CA - Tidal Station Decommissioning / Draft Reduction

Good day,

We would like to draw your attention to a forthcoming issue at the Port of West Sacramento, California. The tide station that the San Francisco pilots use to calculate maximum arrival drafts for Sacramento, is being decommissioned at the end of this year. SF Pilots have advised that if a new tide station is not installed by January 1, 2025, then they will be dropping the channel controlling draft to 27.3 feet as a safety measure, until such time that a new tidal station is installed. The current controlling depth is 29.1 feet. This represents a reduction of 1.8 feet in available draft for vessels calling Sacramento, and obviously creates a substantial hardship on vessel owners and cargo receivers alike.

The Port of West Sacramento and industry interests have been working with private contractors to obtain quotes for installation of a new tidal station, which we understand will cost in excess of USD 250,000. Thus far, these efforts have not proven very fruitful. As of last week, the Port of West Sacramento advises they are still in the quoting stages for the project, and highly doubt that the station will be installed prior to January 1st. We have concurrently engaged the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA), to elevate these efforts through government channels, however, we still expect a privately funded option to be up and operational much faster than a government one. At this time, we unfortunately do not have a realistic timeline on when the new station will ultimately be installed, and all ship owners, operators, and cargo interests calling the Public Port of West Sacramento and Cemex Sacramento terminals, should fully expect this draft reduction come Jan 1, 2025.

As a reminder, the SF Pilots also require 30cm trim aft on all transits to/from the Port of Sacramento, which further impacts cargo intake capacity.

We will of course keep you advised on any developments soonest we receive them. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions meantime.

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