An agreement has been reached regarding the possible ways to expand and improve the ECHO program voluntary slowdown. One of the issues surrounding the program’s expansion, which included boundary pass for the 1^st time this year, is reducing the cost implications for the owners. Due to the nature of the pilotage billing system, costs significantly increase the longer the transit time. The memo from Transport Canada (see below) does an excellent job in explaining the system and the restraints that come with it. When a vessel is transiting between Victoria Pilot Station and Vancouver Harbour (Inner Anchorages or any of the terminals) transit time is usually around 8 hours. When the slowdown program is running, the probability of going over 8 hours increases which can double pilotage rates. As you can imagine, the additional costs can impede an owner’s decision about whether to participate.

When additional costs are incurred, the Pacific Pilotage Authority will calculate the difference between the estimated total cost had the vessel not participated and the final invoice. The difference between the 2 totals will then be reimbursed to the billing party which is typically the agent. Transport Canada anticipates that this reimbursement will take approximately 22 to 50 days after the final invoice has been received by the billing party. The goal of this program is to increase participation in the vessel slowdown as authorities have deemed it to be a success thus far. By reducing the potential risks to owners due to increased pilotage costs, the goal of 100% participation will hopefully be in reach.

The full memo from Transport Canada can be found here.