THUNDER BAY — It may look a traffic jam on water, but the Thunder Bay port authority says the large number of vessels in the harbour recently is a healthy sign rather than an indication of any serious bottleneck.
On Monday morning, there were no fewer than eight ships anchored outside the breakwall, while five others were at dockside being loaded.
"It's a busy time of the season.... And we're seeing a particular drive on the side of potash," said Chris Heikkinen, CEO of the Port of Thunder Bay. "We tend to be seeing more demand for the potash commodity moving through our port."
Heikkinen said he attributes the increase in potash shipments to the strong level of service the port has been providing for shippers who appreciate the local facilities.
But vessels, at times, have to wait in line.
"Grain vessels can go directly to the grain elevator on arrival. However, for potash it works a little bit differently. The rail cars and the vessel need to kind of meet up at the exact same time. Sometimes, just logistically, that might take a couple of days, so the vessel will sit there for a few days."
Concurrently, this is the time of year when a big push is underway for grain shipments.
"Of course, the grain products harvest is well underway on the prairies, and in fact is actually ahead of average levels. So you're going to really start seeing the grain vessels being loaded as well."
Heikkinen believes shipments to Thunder Bay by rail are "flowing rather smoothly," considering the fact there was a labour disruption a few weeks ago and that a CN bridge at Fort Frances has been out of service since mid-August. "I'm also aware that CN has indicated they're going to be able to resume service on that line in just a matter of days," he said, adding that that this should bring the transportation system essentially back to normal.
He noted that shipping-related business provides about 1,000 direct jobs in Thunder Bay, plus spinoff jobs, so "every vessel that you bring into port creates more work for the labour force here. At the end of the day, that's what we're aiming to achieve."
Heikkinen said there's also a strong lineup of ships scheduled to arrive at Keefer Terminal this fall, with "back-to-back vessels" already booked through the end of September at least, bringing a variety of products including steel and some project cargo.
"So it's kind of like all hands on deck at the moment," he said, adding that local residents can expect to see lots of ships in the harbour for the next number of weeks in particular.
— TBnewswatch, with files from Jessah Clement/TBT News
