Port of Hamilton

[LikeHamilton]

HAMILTON PORT WILL HOST CONTAINER SERVICE

JUNE 4, 2021 - Bay Observer

Along-time dream of seeing the Port of Hamilton home to marine container traffic is finally taking place. Hamilton Container Terminal (HCT), in partnership with the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA Ports) and Desgagnés, is taking the first step in developing a container feeder service between Hamilton and Montreal. Docking at Hamilton’s Pier 14, the M/V Sedna Desgagnés is due to make the new service’s first voyage June 10.

This shipment is the first of what is expected to be an increasingly frequent service for container movements on the Great Lakes. The container ‘feeder’ vessel will carry approximately 350 containers (350 TEUs) originating in the GTHA from Hamilton to Montreal. These containers, carrying a diverse range of cargoes, will be transloaded in Montreal to other vessels destined for various overseas ports.

Since its establishment at the Port of Hamilton in 2015, HCT has been building its container handling business, providing a viable alternative to some of the more congested depots in the GTHA. “We have been creating the business ecosystem to bring this service to life,” said HCT President Amandeep Kaloti. “We have invested in infrastructure and established the right partnerships for it to succeed.” In addition to Desgagnés and HOPA Ports, MSC is a key supporter of this service, Federal Marine Terminals as the terminal operator, and all export bookings handled by Hamilton-based freight forwarder Avancer International Freight Systems. Such experts bring synergies to make this shortsea service a reality.

June’s sailing is expected to be followed by a second Hamilton-Montreal voyage in July, building up to 20+ sailings in 2022.

HOPA Ports’ President & CEO Ian Hamilton believes HCT is tapping into a wider shift that is creating new opportunities for Great Lakes shipping. “Highway congestion, greenhouse gas reduction targets, driver shortages – all of these factors are combining, so marine is making more sense for short journeys than ever before,” said Hamilton. In choosing the marine mode, shippers will be reducing their supply chains’ C02 footprint by as much as 500 per cent versus surface transportation. “We know there is a demand in the market for more sustainable, efficient and competitive options for container movements, and we are proud to help HCT launch this forward-looking solution.”

HCT is currently accepting additional bookings from Hamilton to Montreal to India and far east destination ports for the service’s inaugural sailing. For more information contact HCT (Director Commercial), Sanjeev Saraf at sanjeev@hcterminal.com.

https://bayobserver.ca/2021/06/04/ha...ainer-service/

[ScreamingViking]

This is great news. And with HOPA having multiple sites now, there may be more space to devote to this kind of service. I can see them building a new container facility in the east harbour too... a future Pier 27 that's already receiving fill, perhaps even some of the portside land being vacated by Stelco.

CN and CP probably aren't that happy about the new competition, though this is may be quite small relative to their current container shipments. But they'll also have their trains full with oil cars, given the pipeline issues of late, so maybe it's going to be a welcome complement?

__________

Mods: There's an existing Port of Hamilton thread... the two should be merged. Thanks!

[ScreamingViking]

Theodore Too has set sail for Hamilton... McKeil is the new owner.

Farewell to Nova Scotia: Theodore Tugboat replica leaves for new Ontario home
Smiling vessel has called Halifax home for the past 21 years
CBC News
Jun 10, 2021
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...home-1.6060200



Theodore, the beloved TV tugboat, left Halifax Thursday morning, bound for a new Ontario home.

Theodore Too, the 20-metre replica of the children's TV character, was sold earlier this year to a new owner who intends to use the smiling vessel to promote the marine industry and responsible marine stewardship.

Theodore left Halifax Harbour, its home for the past 21 years, at 9 a.m. AT., surrounded by a flotilla of other boats.

The tugboat's new home will be the Port of Hamilton. Upon arrival, its engine will be converted to biodiesel — a symbol of Theodore's future as a "sustainability champion," according to new owner Blair McKeil.

McKeil said in a news release he's arranged for the advocacy group Swim Drink Fish to use Theodore in educating Canadians about water conservation and restoration of the Great Lakes.

McKeil said he's also planning to use Theodore to advocate for employment in Canada's marine and shipbuilding industries.

[jonny24]

Theodore! I remember that!.... god that takes me way back...

And my brother doesn't remember it, weird.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

They going to park him in the West Harbour? Maybe he can keep the Haida company - she's probably pretty lonely down there.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

They going to park him in the West Harbour? Maybe he can keep the Haida company - she's probably pretty lonely down there.

That's probably what will happen. Or on the section of pier where the Harbour Queen is moored.

[ScreamingViking]

He's here... and looking vaguely creepy, like he's always watching you.


Theodore Too’s big adventure ends in Hamilton

Cathie Coward
The Hamilton Spectator
Sun., July 18, 2021

https://www.thespec.com/photos/2021/...-hamilton.html

• Video Link

[SteelTown]

Hamilton’s port eyes year-round shipping into the harbour
Port authority says it can handle icebreaking challenges — but it needs federal help to keep the lift bridge operating in winter

By Matthew Van Dongen
Spectator Reporter
https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...-shipping.html


Hamilton’s port authority is in talks with the federal government about staying open for shipping through the winter for the first time in harbour history.

Year-round access — ideally as early as 2024 — could open the door to new marine opportunities like delivering e-commerce packages to Toronto or passengers on “fast-moving ferries” to Oshawa, said Ian Hamilton, who heads the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA).

But right now, marine shipping to the busiest Canadian port on the Great Lakes largely shuts down for three months each winter in tandem with the St. Lawrence Seaway, when ice buildup makes that system of ship locks unsafe to use.

You might think an iced-over harbour would also pose a big challenge to winter shipping — but it turns out a frozen lift bridge is worse, said the port authority head. “There are solutions to breaking up the ice,” said Hamilton, who suggested the coast guard or local firms like McKeil Marine could break a safe path to open water when necessary.

But Hamilton emphasized the “first and largest obstacle” to year-round ship access to the port is the Burlington Canal lift bridge, which must be raised to allow commercial vessels into the harbour.

The federally owned bridge closes every December until March — in part because no ships are expected, but also for maintenance on a complicated system of machinery, motors and wire ropes that was originally installed in 1962.

Hamilton said the authority is in talks with the government about the possibility of keeping the bridge functional year-round. The idea of HOPA taking ownership of the bridge — a pitch the federal government made as far back as 2014 — is not preferred, but also “not off the table,” Hamilton said.

He said the authority is hopeful the government is open to finding a solution, especially with Hamilton-area MP Filomena Tassi in charge as minister of public services and procurement.

Tassi recently announced plans to replace the lift bridge deck, the latest of several improvements designed to make the aging structure more reliable after years of frequent breakdowns.

The MP acknowledged the port’s request via email and she is “closely” following efforts to extend the shipping season. “Hamilton relies heavily on transportation for its prosperity and its economic growth,” she said.

Regardless, a functional lift bridge in winter would not magically clear a path down the ice-locked seaway to the ocean or up the frozen locks of the Welland Canal to Lake Erie and the rest of the Great Lakes.

So winter shipping into Hamilton Harbour, to start, would likely mean cross-lake service from Toronto, or commercial cargo movement from the port’s recently acquired Oshawa and Niagara partner locations.

Is it worth the effort?

It’s starting to look that way, argued Hamilton, who said the authority is in talks with five cargo movers or shipping companies interested in winter marine access to the port. He said he can’t identify those would-be customers yet.

He said pandemic supply chain woes — think trucker shortages, border snarls and gas prices — and an increasing focus on climate-friendly, low-carbon transportation have combined to renew interest in “potential marine solutions.”

(Ironically, a warming climate may gradually extend the ice-free shipping season, too. Ships have been able to transit the Welland Canal into early January for three years in a row.)

The port’s cargo volume also grew by nine per cent last year, to about $4 billion worth of goods. Ideally, Hamilton said winter shipping would allow the port to “spread out that demand.”

[ScreamingViking]

This image is terrific


Courtesy of the Spec

[ScreamingViking]

Another posted Aug 19 in The Spec's "shipping news"
(looks like it may have been taken in the fall, perhaps 2021? I don't see some of the stuff that has been erected at Pier 8)

[HamiltonBoyInToronto]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Another posted Aug 19 in The Spec's "shipping news"

this photo actually makes that area look kind of ....clean !

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by HamiltonBoyInToronto

this photo actually makes that area look kind of ....clean !

Compared to the eastern portion of the port lands, it is!
(though the smell from the Bunge plant can be nauseating... if it was able to show in a photo, that image would be tainted)