Given the continuing labour situation in Montreal the SLCS partners have been forced to divert the following 3 vessels to Halifax, as the nearest port of relief:-
1. "OOCL Montreal" is moving from Gulf of St. Lawrence to Halifax due July 22-23
2. "MSC Aniello" will call Halifax on or about July 23-24
3. "Toronto Express" will call Halifax on or about July 25-26
Please note that our interactive online schedules have already been updated to reflect these voyage revisions.
What happens to the westbound cargo onboard these vessels?
1. Cargo interests can convert any Bill of Lading to Halifax CY and have the shipments delivered in to their care at this point. OOCL will, as an act of good faith, waive the applicable Change of Destination (COD) fees.
2. OOCL will move the cargo to the final destination, but given the circumstances surrounding the diversion of the vessels we have no option other than to recover our additional costs. A Cargo Diversion Surcharge (CDS) will applicable be based on the respective destination rail hubs transited by the cargo.
3. OOCL will make all reasonable endeavours to deliver Montreal CY cargo to the local rail switching yard, if cargo interests wish Montreal CY Bills of Lading can be converted to Door terms. Additional costs for this will be on assessed a case by case basis given the exact nature of the door move. However, OOCL will, as an act of good faith, waive the applicable COD fees.
OOCL will apply the same principles as listed above, but given the specific nature of the business the exact quantum of the surcharges to be applied is still to be finalised.
The situation in the Port of Montreal remains unclear and the SLCS partners will continue to build flexible contingency plans: 1. Two GEX2 vessels are now in very close proximity. At this time it is anticipated that the "OOCL Montreal" will not return to Europe following discharge in Halifax, albeit no final decision has been taken. Given this potential disruption to our network and loss of capacity, booking acceptance to Montreal has now been suspended.
2. "Mississauga Express" and "Montreal Express" will be loaded based on St. Lawrence water levels, so if the dispute is resolved the vessels can transit direct to Montreal.
3. SLCS partners continue to review options on the following "MSC Gina" and "OOCL Belgium". These will be based on labour situation prevailing at the time of sailing from Europe.
4. Can the port and intermodal infrastructure at Halifax handle the increased volumes? We will constantly monitor the situation in Halifax in the coming days and if necessary will enact our contingency plan to tranship suitable cargo from Halifax to New York, for connection thereafter to the ultimate final destination.
5. Are there plans to divert vessels to US East Coast ports? There are no firm plans at this time to divert any SLCS vessels to another ports other than Halifax.
6. What is the Eastbound situation? Given the landside logistics we do not anticipate that a significant volumes of cargo will be loaded on any 3 vessels due to call in Halifax in the next 5-6 days. Given the immediate and severe disruption to our network OOCL in North America has already implemented a booking stop.
As the situation remains fluid customers are encouraged to check our website for further updates. For information relating to specific shipments please contact your local Customer Service Centre where our staff will do their utmost to assist.
