by Canadian Sailings | Feb 25, 2018 | Brian Dunn, Other
By Brian Dunn
With an opportunity to tap the European market under the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), coupled with the uncertain future of NAFTA, more and more Canadian companies are looking for export markets outside North America. But how does one get into those markets?
“It takes good partners and a unique product, but the key is your employees and suppliers,” according to Martin Plante, General Director, Citadelle, Quebec’s largest cooperative of sugar maple growers and maple syrup producers. Mr. Plante made the remarks during a Food, Beverage and Logistics Conference at the Port of Montreal Building on Nov. 29. The conference was organized by MNP, a national accounting, tax and business consulting firm, in conjunction with Port of Montreal, Montreal Gateway Terminals, La Coop Fédérée, the largest agri-food cooperative in Quebec and Agri-Food Export Group.
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by Canadian Sailings | Feb 25, 2018 | Brian Dunn, Other
By Brian Dunn
According to the Coasting Trade Act of 1992, only Canadian-flagged vessels (or duty-paid vessels) may carry goods or passengers or conduct commercial activities between two Canadian ports. The exception is if a foreign vessel obtains a coasting trade (cabotage) licence for a specific job that a Canadian vessel cannot perform or is unavailable to perform.
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by Canadian Sailings | Feb 25, 2018 | Brian Dunn, Other
By Brian Dunn
Montreal terminal operator GT Group is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year as the company reflects on its humble beginnings. In 1965, company founder Giuseppe Terrigno (hence GT Group) arrived in Canada as a welder. Four years later, someone approached him who needed a container repaired. At the time, Terrigno was building trailers. He tried to convince his boss that there might be a new business opportunity, but his boss wasn’t interested, although he said Mr. Terrigno could do the job in his free time. He put a welding machine in the back of his car and repaired his first container.
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by Canadian Sailings | Feb 25, 2018 | Brian Dunn, Other
By Brian Dunn
The humble container means nothing to most people, except those in the shipping industry. It has been around for decades and revolutionized how cargo is transported today. Last year, Port of Montreal celebrated the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first containers at the port.
“We look at the container and what we do with our ships as a true element of the world and how the people in the world function,” said Sokat Shaikh, President, MSC Canada. “Over the course of the years that I’ve worked at the company, you come to realize that as simple as a container is, and the cargo that goes into that container, moving it from Point A to Point B with our ships is not that simple because it’s a complex logistics grid. “But aside from the complexity of the logistics grid, which is our responsibility, it’s what it (the container) does and what the products inside the container represent.”
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by Canadian Sailings | Oct 15, 2017 | Brian Dunn, Business and Economy, Other, Ports and Terminals
By Brian Dunn
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the 28-member European Union which went into effect on September 21, should be a big boost for the Montreal region, among others, according to Mathieu Charbonneau, Executive Director of CargoM, the Logistics and Transportation Cluster of Metropolitan Montreal.
The agreement is already paying dividends with Maersk Line adding a new weekly service between Montreal and Mediterranean ports in Italy, Spain and France. The new service, launched on Sept. 30, complements the company’s existing service to Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Halifax, in addition to Montreal.
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by Canadian Sailings | Sep 12, 2017 | Brian Dunn, Business and Economy, Corporate events & profiles, Other
By Brian Dunn
The changing landscape of the Canadian Arctic has also changed the customer base of the Canadian Coast Guard, according to its Senior Director, Safe Shipping and Economic Intelligence. In addition to supporting community resupply initiatives and icebreaking to access arctic communities, the coast guard is becoming more involved with the cruiseship industry and ships operating on the Northern Sea Route.
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