No grain in the rain as Vancouver export ships unable to load

Bloomberg

As Canadian grain companies spend millions to upgrade and build new export terminals in Vancouver, a new problem is threatening to cause transportation bottlenecks at the nation’s largest port: vessels can’t load grain in the rain. And it rains a lot in Vancouver.
In Canada’s wettest major city, the practice of loading ocean-bound vessels with grain in rainy weather has been halted since January amid safety concerns for marine crews. Every time there’s a wet period, crews stop loading and wait for the skies to clear.
“Vancouver terminals are generally operating on and off as the rain keeps starting and stopping,” said Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association, which represents the nation’s grain shippers, including Rich-ardson International, Cargill and Viterra, Glencore Plc’s Canadian grain unit. Earlier this week, “there were significant weat-
her delays during the loading process” due to the rain.
The potential delays come as the port city heads into wettest time of the year and as grain shippers seek to move large volumes of harvested crops including wheat, canola. November through January is the rainiest period of year in Vancouver and there’s a chance this winter cou-ld be warmer and wetter than normal if El Nino conditions develop, said Matt MacDonald, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.
RAIL DELAYS
Rail transportation bottlenecks led to piles of commodities being stuck on Canada’s Prairies last winter, including grain, oil and lumber. While total Canadian grain shipments have been moving at a faster pace this season, there are concerns rain could serve as another potential disruption.
Total Canadian grain exports through all ports have surged 9.3 percent to 18.7 million tonnes between August and early December, up from 17.1 million tonnes the year earlier, Canadian Grain Commission data show.
“It’s been raining very heavily on the Canadian west coast. When it rains heavily it does slow down the loading of the grain vessels,” Canadian National Railway Co Chief Executive Officer Jean-Jacques Ruest said in an interview, noting the situation is unlikely to have a lasting impact on grain movement. “It’s true there have been challenges in Vancouver. The last 10 days have been more challenging than otherwise.”
Up until last winter, marine crews would pour grain through feeder holes in the ship’s hatch cover during inclement weather or place a tarp over the hold, leaving a small opening for a loading pipe to drop in the grain. Grain needs to be protected to prevent it from getting wet, which can cause it to rot or sprout in transit.

WORKER ISSUES
The practice was halted earlier this year after an arbitrator ruled guard rails must be erected when crews are loading vessels in the rain to prevent falls, said John Beckett, vice president of training, safety and recruitment at the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association. The union representing longshore workers has also raised concerns regarding electrical grounding and staffing levels, and those issues still need to be dealt with before crews resume loading in the rain, he said.
The impasse has so far been an “irritation” and has not
had an impact on grain movement, said Mark Hemmes, president of Edmonton, Alberta- based Quorum Corp, a comp-any hired by the federal government to monitor Canada’s grain transportation system.