Port of Belledune: diversification is key to a bright future

The Port of Belledune on the east coast of Canada is a world class deep water facility with exceptional year round cargo handling capacity. It handles resource materials, energy, aggregate, and so forth.

The port was built in 1968 to facilitate the shipping needs of Noranda (Glencore) Smelter. It was originally operated by the Canada Ports Corporation in Ottawa. In 2000, the Port of Belledune became a local port authority.

The Belledune Port Authority (BPA) offers modern equipment and infrastructure which includes a barge terminal, a roll-on, roll-off terminal and Modular Component Fabrication Facility. It is a year-round, ice-free, deep-water port and offers efficient stevedoring always ensuring the integrity of its customers’ cargo. The port has ample outdoor terminal storage space and several indoor storage facilities — a definite competitive advantage for bulk, breakbulk and general cargo handling.

The BPA offers diversity, innovation and has a reputation for excellence. To continue to achieve these sustainable results, it benefits from a dynamic and engaged board of directors and a professional and committed staff.
Safety is always the first priority at the Port of Belledune, which holds the ‘Certificate of Compliance of a Marine Facility or a Port.’ The EPA holds an A+ safety rating from Transport Canada. Transport Canada Marine Safety & Security has not identified any vulnerabilities during its past assessments. 

FIVE GROWTH SECTORS
As part of its diversification efforts, the BPA has adapted a new business development method with an increased focus on specific growth sectors. The objective behind this new strategic direction is to enhance the BPA’s capabilities, create new opportunities and encourage new development at the Port of Belledune and in Northern New Brunswick.  

The majority of cargo handled by the Port of Belledune in 2016 fell under the energy sector in the amount of 1,620,187,000 kilograms.

With this focused approach to business development the BPA strives to be innovative, offer supply chain solutions and be a catalyst for growth in Northern New Brunswick. 


SIX NEW COMMODITIES
The Port of Belledune welcomed six new commodities in 2016, including bauxite, urea, limestone, mill scale, silica sand and road salt.

While bauxite, limestone, mill scale, silica sand and road salt all fall within the Mining & Minerals sector, urea falls within the Agricultural sector, and is used predominantly as a fertilizer. The Port of Belledune received a shipment of urea in April, 2016 in the amount of 5,984,000 kilograms. The shipment came from Muuga, Estonia. Prior to 2016, the port received its last shipment of urea in 2006.

Over the course of the year, the port also welcomed 7,183 tonnes of bauxite from New Amsterdam, Guyana, 36,731,000 kilograms of limestone from Lower Cove, Newfoundland, 7,183,000 kilograms of mill scale from Nanticoke, Ontario and 9,428,000 kilograms of silica sand from Long Pond, NFLD. In addition, the port also received its first five shipments of salt, three of which came from Pugwash Nova Scotia, one shipment from Magdalen Island, Quebec and another from Casablanca, Morocco totalling 67,915,000 kilograms of salt in 2016.

The BPA is very pleased to have welcomed these new commodities to the port and it will continue its efforts to create new opportunities and encourage new development in an effort to sustain its success and enhance its capabilities.

EASTERN CANADA STEVEDORING INC.

Eastern Canada Stevedoring Inc. (ECS), a subsidiary of Quebec Stevedoring Company Limited (QSL), has been providing their clients with exceptional services tailored to their specific needs for many years. The company is very active at the Port of Belledune. Supported by a management team with a wealth of experience, skilled workers with extensive know-how and equipment at the cutting-edge of technology, ECS adheres to the most stringent quality standards of the stevedoring industry. ECS is the terminal operator for Terminal 3 and also provides stevedoring services for all other terminals at the Port of Belledune.

ECS works very closely with the management team at the Belledune Port Authority to develop innovative customer solutions and provide the most flexible port experience. 

 
 
Kinder Morgan Terminals: providing logistical solutions to serve North America  

Kinder Morgan, Inc. is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America. It owns an interest in, or operates, approximately 135,185 kilometres of pipelines and 155 terminals. Kinder Morgan’s pipelines transport natural gas, gasoline, crude oil, carbon dioxide (CO2) and more. Kinder Morgan’s terminals store and handle liquid bulk products, such as petroleum and chemicals, and dry bulk products such as coal, salt, cement, steel and fertilizer. Kinder Morgan has a combined liquids storage capacity of approximately 152 million barrels and handles about 60 million tonnes of dry bulk materials annually. Kinder Morgan also owns Jones Act product tankers that are engaged in the marine transportation of crude oil, condensate and refined products in the United States.

On the East Coast of the United States, Kinder Morgan owns and/or operates 17 major liquid bulk terminals and 11 major dry bulk terminals. Kinder Morgan also operates marine terminals inside several of Nucor Steel’s Plant facilities in the US, with two on the East Coast in Hertford, North Carolina and Charleston, South Carolina.

The following are key specifics of a few of Kinder Morgan’s larger dry bulk terminals on the East Coast of the United States:

TAMPAPLEX TERMINAL

Tampaplex Terminal is located on the Port Sutton Channel in Tampa, Florida. It is a 461,342-sq m terminal with two berths that handle many different commodities such as fertilizer, salt, aggregates, coal, and scrap metal.

The terminal has three warehouses and three silos for products that need indoor storage, and it has a direct unit train connection to CSX railroad, and the draught at the berth is 10 metres.

EXPANSION OPPORTUNITIES AT FAIRLESS HILLS TERMINAL

This terminal is located on the Delaware River in Fairless Hills,  Pennsylvania.

It is situated on a 404,686-sq m site within a 4,046,856-sq m industrial park and has two berths that handle a variety of
commodities such as steel slabs, steel coils and rebar, bulk sacks, pipes, beams, fertilizer, coal, sugar, slag, sand, and liquid UAN fertilizer. There is an Ashross railcar unloader on site and the terminal has direct unit train connection to CSX and NS railroads. The draught at the Terminals main berths is 12 metres and 15 centimetres.

EXPORT COAL AT PIER IX TERMINAL

This terminal is located on the James River in Newport News, Virginia. It is a 267,093-sq m terminal with two berths designed to handle export/import coal, petcoke, and imported cement. It has direct unit train connection to CSX railroad and has a double rotary railcar dump system capable of unloading 600 railcars per day. The export berth has a draught of 15 metres and a shiploader capable of loading 3,500,000 kilograms per hour. 

DRY BULK OPPORTUNITIES AT SHIPYARD RIVER TERMINAL

This terminal is located on the Cooper River in Charleston, South Carolina. It is a 1.09-sq km terminal with three berths that handle a variety of commodities such as cement, salt, aggregates, coal, fertilizer, gypsum and pumice, as well as liquid bulk products such as petroleum and chemicals. It has direct unit train connection to both CSX and NS railroads and the draught at the berth ranges from 12 to 14 metres. With ample land for growth and rail advantages this terminal has several growth projects in the works.

TWO GOTTWALDS ADDED TO ELIZABETH RIVER TERMINAL

This terminal recently added two large floating Gottwald Cranes with an unloading capacity of 25,000,000 kilograms per day. It is located on the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, in Chesapeake,Virginia. It is a 433,014-sq m terminal with two berths designed to handle many different commodities such as fertilizer, salt, ores, minerals, aggregates, scrap steel. The terminal connects to both the CSX and NS railroads via a short line railroad, and the terminal has a draught at the main terminal berths of 11 metres. The terminal has 13 warehouses, five truck scales, and two rail scales.

VESSEL TO BARGE AND INBOUND OPERATIONS AT PIER X

This pier has two Gottwald Cranes with 42 and 52 cubic yard buckets capable of unloading 25,000,000 kilograms per day. Two travelling hoppers feed a high speed conveyor that conveys to ground storage located within Pier IX terminal. The Pier X berth LOA is 251 metres, with a 50- foot draught, a 122 breadth  limit, and a 30.5-metres airdraught limit. This pier is a key asset for inbound bulk handling and vessel to barge midstream operations.

PORT MANATEE TERMINAL

Port Manatee Terminal is located on the Port Sutton Channel in Palmetto, Florida. It is a six-acre terminal with one berth that handles many different commodities such as fertilizer, salt, and aggregates. The terminal has four warehouses that can store approximately 130,000,000 kilograms of products, a direct unit train connection to CSX railroad, and a draught at the berth of 12 metres.

SAFETY FIRST

Safety, environmental excellence and compliance, and commitment to its customers are top priorities at Kinder Morgan Terminals. In 2016, Kinder Morgan Terminals recorded 73 terminals with 1,000 days or greater without a Recordable injury, and 110 terminals with 1,000 days or greater without a lost time injury which is considerably less than the industry average. 

 
Host Offers East Coast a unique, multi-faceted solution at Tradepoint Atlantic  

On 6 April this year,Tradepoint Atlantic, a 12.55-sq km multimodal global logistics centre in Baltimore, Maryland — which features an unmatched combination of access to deepwater berths, railroads, highways, and storage space — announced an exclusive, ten-year agreement with Host Terminals to oversee the vast majority of marine cargo operations. The facility is designed to handle all dry bulk cargoes, as well as breakbulk and liquid bulk cargoes.

As part of the announcement, ZAR 390 million in combined investment toward infrastructure improvements will also be made to the site. This will further Tradepoint Atlantic’s ability to generate a projected 17,000 direct and indirect permanent jobs  over the next decade as it enhances Baltimore’s competitiveness as a key East Coast port for global trade.

“Since Host’s founding in 1923, many of the fundamentals of moving bulk and breakbulk cargo haven’t changed,” says Host President and CEO Adam Anderson. “Tradepoint Atlantic offers a unique solution to create efficiencies in the supply chain by processing goods on-site and using rail to provide a lower delivered cost to our customers. Our goal is to add value, whether it’s 202,343 sq m for a factory on-site, a storage warehouse, or a tank. With Host’s expertise and our partners at Tradepoint Atlantic, we can deliver those REAL solutions to the market place. It will not only service the market in Baltimore, but will shift the transportation paradigm for bulk and breakbulk cargoes to the 21st century.”

With eight berths, over 4,046,856 sq m dedicated to marine storage space, and connections to both CSX and Norfolk Southern,Tradepoint Atlantic is the largest maritime development in the United States. The site offers immediate access to the interstate and regional road network, and it has the largest private rail yard on the East Coast with over 161 kilometres of shortline rail on-site. It will be the first place in the country to push bulk cargo operations inland.

Last year, the facility moved 1.6mt (million tonnes) of cargo, and aims to move 5mt annually within five years.

Cargo currently moving through TPA includes numerous commodities, such as granulated slag, coal, import organic grain, zinc calcine, and gypsum. 

 
Blue Water Shipping expands its horizons  
Blue Water Shipping Company has opened a new office in Norfolk,Virginia. The new office, which was opened on
1 June this year, is staffed by three highly experienced local agents — Kevin Clapsaddle, Casey Porter and Chris Peele.
Blue Water’s trusted, dedicated and highly experienced team of ASBA- certified Agents and Freight Forwarders have proudly served cargo interest and the bulk shipping industry since 1979.
Blue Water Shipping’s new office in Norfolk, Virginia (photo: Matt Boucree).
 
Blue Water Shipping
Company is a privately held US steamship agency specializing in co-ordinating port calls of oceangoing vessels and timely execution of import and export shipments of bulk, agri, fertilizers, coal, petroleum coke, ores, steel, minerals, biomass and oils.
Blue Water provides professional 24-hour agency services at all US ports, precision freight forwarding for bulk cargoes, AMS, eNoa/d (electronic notice of arrival/departure) services and much more.
With headquarters in Metairie, Louisiana and fully staffed offices in Houston,Texas; Mobile, Alabama; Portland, Oregon; Puget Sound,Washington; and, now, Norfolk,Virginia, Blue Water’s team of professionals directly serves vessels calling the Mighty Mississippi River, Mobile, Pascagoula, all US Gulf ports, all Texas Ports, the Columbia River, Seattle,Tacoma, Gray’s Harbor, Hampton Roads and Baltimore.