Here's a short selection from the hundreds of shipping articles I've written while covering the west coast of North America, including California, Oregon, Washington State, B.C.(Canada) and Alaska: * Kyle Washington: The Prince of Tides (BC Business) * Escape from the 91st Floor (9/11) * Armada Rescues Trapped New Yorkers (9/11) * The Ship That… Continue reading Maritime clips
Everybody loves a good storyteller and I’m no exception. Last week, I listened to some of the live streaming of the Enbridge hearings from Kitimaat, the First Nations village a few clicks outside the company town of Kitimat in northwest B.C. It was the tail end of the first day and the Haisla’s Chief Councillor,… Continue reading The monster of Kitimaat and other tales at Enbridge hearing
Monday, Oct. 31, 2011 (see update) By Alison Bate Talks between the maritime employers and dock foremen in British Columbia are deadlocked, the organisation representing employers said Friday (Oct.28) “Nothing’s happening. We’re at an impasse, ” said Greg Vurdela, vice president of marketing for the B.C Maritime Employers Association. He also accused dock foremen in… Continue reading Longshore foremen talks stalemated in B.C.
Oct. 19, 2011 By Alison Bate Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards came second to Halifax's Irving Shipbuilding in the big contract deal announced today. In a nutshell: 1st: Irving Shipbuilding, Halifax, Nova Scotia. $25 billion to build combat vessels. 2nd: Seaspan Marine Corp, British Columbia. $8 billion to build non-combat vessels. Out of luck: Joint venture between… Continue reading Seaspan wins second prize in massive shipbuilding deal
Two articles I wrote shortly after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre have just been reprinted in a 10-year retrospective. The first one, Armada rescues trapped New Yorkers, was based on extensive phone interviews with tugboat owners with Reinauer Transportation and Moran Towing, as well as officials with U.S. Coast Guard Activities New… Continue reading My 9/11 rescue and survivor stories reprinted
May 30, 2011 While surfing the internet, I ran across this photo of a ship I sailed on a few years ago. It brought back fond memories of sailing across the Pacific on the CSCL Felixstowe. I got asked a ton of questions about the trip, when I returned. Here, in no particular order, are… Continue reading Top 10 questions about life on a containership
Just heard that the main dockworkers' union in Vancouver and other B.C. ports have reached a watershed eight-year deal. The contract between the International Longshore Warehouse Union Canada and maritime employers ran out more than a year ago. But that still leaves seven years on the new contract, an impressive length, when you consider that… Continue reading Eight-year contract approved on Vancouver docks
Better late than never, I’ve been plugging my way through the marine side of Enbridge’s application to bring supertankers into B.C.’s northwestern waters. Last weekend, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I saw Enbridge’s huge advert in The Vancouver Sun claiming its Northern Gateway project would make “B.C.’s North Coast safer for… Continue reading Enbridge releases tanker plans for Kitimat
By Alison Bate In September 2009, two German heavylift ships dropped anchor at Novyy Port after a historic trip, transiting the legendary Northeast Passage over the top of Russia. After discharging 44 cargo modules in the Siberian outpost, the MV “Beluga Fraternity” and “Beluga Foresight” sailed on toward Rotterdam with the remaining 3,500 tons of… Continue reading Fight over Arctic shipping routes
By Alison Bate First published in Maritime Magazine, Fall 2009 Vancouver longshore worker Karen Crossan stood in the ghostly dispatch hall looking vainly for work on tonight's graveyard shift. "I'm bored and I am broke," she said, after learning there was no work that night, yet again. "There were 150 jobs for the afternoon shift,… Continue reading B.C. longshore casuals take a beating
