The Eternus, an Isle of Man registered vessel, sailing from Falmouth, United Kingdom, was the first ship to arrive at the Port of Sept-Îles this year, at 5:20 a.m. on 4 January 2013. The vessel arrived empty and finally docked on 11 January at Rio Tinto IOC dock No 2. It will set sail again with 162,721 metric tonnes of iron ore destined for Dunkirk, France.
Pierre D. Gagnon, president & CEO of the Port of Sept-I^les, presented Captain Miroslaw Kaczmarczyk with the prestigious cane bearing the Port of Sept-Îles insignia.
Several gifts were presented to the captain by Lorraine Dubuc-Johnson, pro-mayor of the City of Sept-Îles, as well as by representatives of Rio Tinto IOC.
This tradition, now in its 26th year, marks the arrival of the first ship of the year to call at the port. To be eligible, the vessel must come directly from a foreign port and be bound for a destination outside the country without making any other calls at a Canadian port.
In 2012, the prestigious cane was transformed in order to showcase the materials that form the basis of the port operations, iron and aluminium. The more contemporary version
of the cane is a reflection of the port logo, with its stylized polished aluminium head supporting an iron ore rock whose brilliance is reflected in a half sphere of acrylic. The seven stars of the port logo which represent the seven islands in the Bay of Sept-Îles have been reproduced in gold on the band of the cane. The head of the cane is mounted on a dark rosewood shaft that brings warmth and prestige to the creation.
ABOUT THE PORT OF SEPT-I^LES
Boasting a variety of state-of-the-art facilities, the Port of Sept- Îles is one of North America’s leading iron ore ports in terms of
annual volume handled with close to 30 million tonnes. Sept-Îles’ port facilities play a vital and strategic role in the operation of a number of businesses from the region’s primary sector.The Port’s annual economic impact is estimated at nearly $1 billion, with some 4,000 direct and indirect jobs. Port activity at the Port of Sept-I^les therefore remains a significant source of wealth creation in Quebec and Canada.