For all stakeholders in maritime transportation regulation, all eyes were on London during the second week of April and meetings being held there by the Maritime Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) of the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO). After some debate, the MEPC adopted a strategy for further reductions by the shipping industry of CO2 emissions, a plan which represented a middle ground among member states participating in the meeting.

For Canadian ports on the Pacific Coast, spring did not come soon enough, though its arrival was certainly welcomed. A particularly harsh winter throughout Western Canada notably affected railway operations which in turn provoked serious congestion problems for shippers at the key British Columbia gateways of Vancouver and Prince Rupert already coping with growth management challenges.

Shortly after coming to the United States in 1985 to work for ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd, Klaus Schnede almost returned to his native Germany, frustrated by a language barrier.