M/V Istra, which arrived at 8:30 p.m. on January 1, is the first ocean-going vessel from a foreign port to reach the port of Quebec this year. Sailing under the flag of Croatia, this tanker of 195 metres in length and gross tonnage of 30,638 called at wharf 87 serving the Jean Gaulin refinery in Lévis on the south shore of Quebec City. Arriving from Port Arthur in Texas, the ship was at the port to unload naphtha for the liquid bulk terminal run by Valero Energy Inc.
A short ceremony took place aboard the ship with representatives from the Port Authority’s senior management, the Naval Reserve Headquarters, the terminal operator and the vessel’s shipping agent. The gold-headed cane was awarded to Captain Damir Tansek by Mario Girard, President and CEO of the Port Authority. The ship left Quebec City for Montreal on January 3.