West Coast Strike Update and Delmar Alternative Solutions

As mentioned in our previous advisory, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) had issued a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday, June 28th, and officially walked off the job at 8 a.m. on Saturday, July 1st. This affects about 7400 terminal cargo loaders at BC ports including Canada's busiest port, the Port of Vancouver. 

According to reports from the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), they remain committed to reaching a fair and balanced deal with the ILWU, one that recognizes the expertise of BC’s waterfront workforce. Meanwhile, the ILWU union representing the cargo workers said it is seeking a deal that protects their jobs and offers recognition for the hard work and sacrifices of the longshore workers during the pandemic. Seamus O'Regan, the Minister of Labour of Canada, is currently overseeing the negotiations in Vancouver in response to the job action.  

Since the job action that took effect July 1st, all container vessel and port operations have stopped at BC terminals. Therefore, all containers that have been grounded at BC ports will not move inland until a settlement is reached.  New vessels scheduled to dock at West Coast ports have not been permitted to berth and we are monitoring future carrier actions for diversion or alternate remedies. 

Given the current strike-related uncertainty, to protect our customers’ supply chains, Delmar is pleased to announce the following contingency plans using alternative gateway ports in Canada and USA from several North and South Asia origins:    

Full container loads (FCL) destined to Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver  

Option 1 

All water routing to/via Montreal (45 to 60 days transit time). 

Option 2 

Transload service via USA West Coast ports (21 to 30 days transit time). The amounts listed below reflect surcharges which will be applied over existing quoted ocean tariffs. They include all local drayage at various port locations, unloading and re-loading into dry van trucks for final mile deliveries.  

Montreal		USD 6200.00
Toronto		USD 5600.00
Vancouver	USD 3500.00
Calgary	USD 3800.00
Edmonton	USD 4000.00

 

Groupages (LCL) destined to Montreal - Toronto   

Delmar will route all future less than container load (LCL) shipments via all water services until the situation on the West Coast is resolved and expected congestion is normalized to avoid what we expect will be long delays and possible significant storage and detention charges. 

All water routing to/via Montreal (45 to 50 days transit time). 

 

For additional information and assistance, please contact your local Delmar Representative.