On September 29, the Pacific Pilotage Authority (PPA) published its Notice of Revised Service Charges for next year, outlining proposed revisions to the pilotage charges for 2024. With the main increases tied to negotiated contracts linked to Consumer Prince Index, the PPA is proposing a 5% increase to hourly and unit fees and a 4% increase to pilot boat.

These increases follow the PPA’s rate hike of almost 10% at the beginning of 2023.

Given these substantial increases to PPA tariff and the number of vessels now shifting between remote anchorages and Vancouver Terminals, which lead to significantly longer job times and orders requiring pilot changes, the pilotage charges have become a noticeably significant factor in overall port cost for vessels calling the Port of Vancouver.

As stated in the Notice, the deadline for feedback to the latest proposed changes is October 29, 2023.