by Canadian Sailings | Dec 12, 2018 | Other, Ports and Terminals
By Sam Whelan
Pressure is mounting on container ports to improve efficiency in terminal operations, as wholesale change in the shipping industry continues to increase competition and drive down revenue per box. According to Mark Welles, Navis Vice-President and General Manager, Asia Pacific, terminal operators are “aggressively attacking their cost base and figuring out ways to use some of their tools to do more with less”. This includes using automation to drive incremental changes that improve operational efficiency, whether waterside or at the terminal gate. “Terminals are making the small or large changes they need to keep their businesses moving ahead against the challenges from consolidation on the carrier side,” he told The Loadstar. (more…)
by Canadian Sailings | Dec 12, 2018 | Christopher Williams, Other, Ports and Terminals, Top Stories
By Christopher Williams
In 1968, The Beatles topped the charts with Hey Jude, and the first “manned” spacecraft orbited the moon. Simultaneously, New Brunswick’s Village of Belledune became a centre of unprecedented progress with the construction of a major deep-water port. The remote community saw hardware stores open. Gas stations and grocers flourished. Port expansions continued through the decades resulting in new customers and record traffic.
“In 2018, we handled 402,172 tonnes in July alone which broke our all-time record for tonnage in a single month,” says Jenna MacDonald, Director of Marketing & Business Development. “We also just passed the million-dollar mark of funds reinvested in the region through sponsorships and donations since 2008.” (more…)
by Canadian Sailings | Dec 12, 2018 | Business and Economy, Keith Norbury, Other, Ports and Terminals, Supply Chain and Logistics, Top Stories
By Keith Norbury
The $10.7 billion Site C hydroelectric dam project in northeastern B.C. entered its third year of construction this summer with more than 3,000 workers on the job. They include more than 700 heavy equipment operators, more than 300 carpenters and scaffolders, about 75 ironworkers, and some 70 crane operators. Photos on the Site C website show dozens if not hundreds of gargantuan pieces of equipment moving earth and erecting structures on the site, which straddles the Peace River at Fort St. John. Many of the cranes, trucks and excavators had to be transported to Site C, along with materials to build the powerhouse, substation structure, and ATCO trailers for 1,600 units of workforce housing. (more…)
by Canadian Sailings | Dec 12, 2018 | Featured, Keith Norbury, Other, Ports and Terminals
By Keith Norbury
Work is underway on a $15 million project to modernize the Keefer terminal at the port of Thunder Bay that is expected to enhance the Port’s project cargo business. “We’ve had this in the books for quite awhile. But now that we have the funding, we’re going to push ahead with it,” said Tim Heney, CEO of Thunder Bay Port Authority. The project recently received a $7.5 million grant from the $2 billion National Trade Corridors Fund that federal Transportation Minister Marc Garneau announced in July. (more…)
by Canadian Sailings | Dec 12, 2018 | Keith Norbury, Other, Other Stories, Ports and Terminals
By Keith Norbury
From the Lorneville Mechanical Contractors Ltd. shop on the west side of Saint John, N.B., to the Irving Oil Refinery on the city’s east side is less than 20 kilometres by road. But the route has a lot of obstructions, not the least being a bridge across the Saint John River. And that meant Lorneville Mechanical couldn’t bid on jobs to build giant modules at the nearby refinery — even though the fabrication company had the wherewithal to make them — until this year. Making the move possible was the opening of the $7.1 million Spruce Lake Barge terminal on Bay of Fundy’s Lorneville Harbour just a few hundred metres away from Lorneville Mechanical. In April 2018, a pair of 120,000 cubic feet, 200-tonne refining modules built at the fabrication facility departed the new barge terminal for the refinery. (more…)
by Canadian Sailings | Dec 12, 2018 | Christopher Williams, Corporate events & profiles, Featured, Other, Ports and Terminals
By Christopher Williams
Plan for future changes now and flourish. That’s the takeaway for representatives from ports across Canada and the world who gathered in Saint John, NB, September 10-13th for the 60th Annual Conference of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities (ACPA). Founded in 1958, ACPA represents all Canadian Port Authorities, various government entities and companies doing business in the marine sector. About 200 delegates heard keynote speakers and panelists focus on the future with such topics as supply chain clusters, meta-data analysis, climate resilience, global trade trends and cruise sector growth. (more…)
