Seasons change

So as we can see from our window, winter is here again.... it's not cold but the water temperatures 

are steadily dropping, the channel markers are out, and in 11 days the seaway season will be over.

This year has been quiet, this was perhaps not so surprising but it was frustrating too, opportunity was 

there but somehow it was really hard to convert it into dollars..... we are left with the feeling that we worked twice as hard for the same results as managed in 2011..

It's time to reflect and strategise and then come back renewed in 2013, lets hope the Snake is kinder to us than the Dragon. Correctness be damned, happy Christmas to all ;)      

"but there's always a ship............."

The subject line above is a cry if not often heard, certainly a mantra many in this business believe.  Montreal is, regardless of what the weather statistics indicate, in the middle of winter, a season not universally beloved of shipowners.  Yes folks it gets cold, sometimes very cold, things freeze, machinery becomes more fragile, and the simple business of getting around just becomes more fraught and difficult.
The just-in-time wizards of supply chain fame however often don't seem to realise these simple facts and sometimes pay scant regard to the month number on the calendar....
Pre-emptive planning is key, but unfashionable, right now we could be fixing some high paying business we have quite a list of things that could be done and soon too, but unfortunately right now that old shippage adage with which we started this post does not ring true....

p.s. if you happen to have a chemical tanker within a week of Montreal please call !

Wacky Weather

What a difference a few days can make .......  Mr Mollers famous blue paint clause may
soon be done for the year.

23rd Feb

26th Feb

Our first open water clean cargoes now appear to be re-sourced (as opposed to resourced)
from the Continent, so the close to half a mil' is probably now more like point six five.

At Last

Winter has arrived, we have snowfall warning in effect and 15-25 cms are due, this is however not this winters norm.  We have had a warmer than average season so far Montreal in February has been on average 4.6C above normal.  Usually the place where conditions most concern marine traffic are in the Gulf of St Lawrence, the ice zones have only now been activated, about 6 weeks later than usual. Considering that the days are lengthening and some brave birds are even starting to test their voices then spring will surely come soon.

The lakes season has its first fixture as well, clean product is due into Ontario refineries
from New York in early april, at a tad under 5000 benjamins the freight was suprisingly firm too.

Gulf of St Lawrence 23rd feb

Opening (and closing)

22nd of March and the St Lawrence Seaway season 2012 begins...... its probably
as early a debut as is on record. Ice conditions, except perhaps at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, will be moderate so hopefully the channel markers will be easily restored too.
  
Sad news also , Timm Paulsen, a stalwart of the Montreal agency scene passed away last weekend aged 73. His employers, Laden Maritime are hosting a memorial today at the Montreal Seamans Club in the Old Port.  

Cold and calm

For the next few days we'll be below -10 c overnight, but this winter here like in many places, has been mild. We are now however seeing more ice accumulating in the
Gulf of St lawrence and approaches to Montreal and Quebec...you can see the latest map
and a link that explains Egg charts below.  Activity here in winter is always less than in the other 3 seasons but this year the whole east coast seems quiet.... the flat market and low freight earnings has seen owers moving their tonnage to farther and more fruitful pastures it seems. By contrast the American flag cabotage vessels trading between us ports are reportedly very busy.


http://ice-glaces.ec.gc.ca/prods/WIS28CT/20120202180000_WIS28CT_0006270307.pdf

http://www.ec.gc.ca/glaces-ice/default.asp?lang=En&n=7901F1A0-1

Big Oil doing well

Imperial Oil, the brand name by which we know Exxon in Canada, has just announced
its q4 2011 results. Nett income is $1005 million, an increase of 26% from the same quarter in 2010.  I suppose that the people that really seem to matter, stock market analysts, will view this as disapointing and the share price will fall :)
Interesting also that in the accompanying press release 5 of the 6 bullet points of interest in the quarter mention the oil sands, Canada's oil patch still seems mesmerised by the dollars to be made regardless of environmental concerns expressed by some of the G20.

Monday Monday

Monday has rolled around again, and as is normal with each week comes a new resolve
to re-organise refettle and generally be better and more dynamic. This I find can be sorely tested by market lethargy and the general risk averse thinking that prevails these days. If some of our largest corporations thought now like they did when they were first conceived would they have ever achieved their current stature?

Robert Burns

In this international industry we all probably know one or two people of Scottish origin, don't be suprised if they're not in a the crack of dawn tomorrow. A Burns Night supper is a long observed Scottish tradition, a celebration of the life and works of Scotlands national bard Robert Burns, he wrote much more than just Auld Lang Syne.  http://www.robertburns.org/

West of St Lambert

The St Lawrence Seaway, the first lock is about 6 km in a straight line from where we sit, plays an important part in our daily shipping lives. For the 2012 season the governing body has announced that there will be no toll increases, good news in the light of our stubbornly sluggish economy. Also worthy of note was season 2011, at 284 days the longest on record (it beat 2007 by a day). With our climate seemingly becoming more moderate with every passing year this record will perhaps not stand for long.

    

Slain by the Dragon

Back in the office after a couple of days away, catching up with operations, sending thankyou messages and doing expenses...  The year of the dragon seems to be excuse of
the day for the market lethargy, it will no doubt spill over into the rest of the week too.
Whilst in Toronto favorite topics for discussion seemed to be (in no particular order)
Unseasonably high product inventories, Closing of the refinery in Saint Croix,
The North , New tonnage entering the Canadian market , Import cargo supply for
lakes opening.
Our challenge is now to try and make sense of all this and see how we can profitably participate......

Marine Club

Today is the annual Pilgrimage to downtown Toronto for the Marine Club
dinner.  Its a simple commuter flight of about an hour but for those of us who
don't travel a huge amount its always somewhat of a fuss, I feel that airlines and transport authorities conspire to make the paying public feel like farm animals .....
Once there its always great to catch up with clients and friends and perhaps lay the foundations for some future business.  My first meeting will be with someone I first met over 25 years ago, and since I see him infrequently, some convivial catching up will be fun, hopefully it will set a positive tone for the whole trip.

Time flies, and so do we

Here we are on the 18th of January, up to our tails in the white stuff, and as usual less
busy than we'd like to be when the Seaway is shut. Yesterday we heard the first signs of lakes interest for the 2012 season . I guess it's the Canadian Shipbrokers equivalent of the groundhog seeing his shadow on Febuary 2nd, we like it.

This Thursday and Friday it's the annual Marine Club dinner in Toronto ...... will you be there ?

http://themarineclub.org/

A trip to the chiller

Winter is now upon us, Canada can deal with the cold but with averages close to -20 celcius for the last 2 days things move just a little bit more slowly. Later today we'll get a  10 degree rise in temperatures so it will become more comfortable.  Ships are now operating in full winter conditions and we do have real ice to contend with as you approach the Pilot station at Les Escoumins ........ agents and ice advisors will supply all "how to's" on request but the latest chart from environment canada is as follows

http://ice-glaces.ec.gc.ca/prods/WIS28SD/20120115180000_WIS28SD_0006236894.pdf

The first one

Well, here we are are at work on a grey january afternoon..... one of our resolutions
for 2012 involved trying to find something usefull to do with our computers other than email.  so please bear with us, this is a little grass roots experiment in social media.