Canada’s Montreal Port Authority (MPA) reported another record year with close to 38 million tons of cargo handled in 2017.
As informed, this unaudited figure represents a year-over-year (YOY) increase of almost 7% in cargo traffic. Additionally, in the last five years, the port’s cargo volumes have grown 34%.
What is more, the Port of Montreal again shattered a cruise traffic record. In 2017, Montreal welcomed more than 114,517 cruise passengers and crew members, a 33% leap over the previous year. The rise in cruise traffic comes after the inauguration of the new cruise terminal in June 2017.
In 2017, MPA’s new container terminal at Viau completed its first full year of operations. At term, the facility will make it possible to handle 600,000 TEUs, the port authority said.
In September, the MPA submitted its Environmental Impact Statement for its 1.15 million TEU container terminal project at Contrecoeur.
“This key project for the future of the container in Montreal and Quebec is based on the steady growth of containerized cargo in recent decades,” Sylvie Vachon, Chief Executive Officer and President of MPA , commented.
The project will be subject to consultations through the regulatory process of the federal regulatory process in early 2018.
The announcement on the port’s cargo throughput was made during a ceremony held on January 3.
On that occasion, Vachon awarded the Gold-Headed Cane to Captain Rakesh Kumar, an Indian national, Master of the Ottawa Express, the first ocean-going vessel to reach the Port of Montreal without a stopover in 2018. The Ottawa Express crossed the Port of Montreal‘s limits on January 1, 2018, and docked at Berth 77 at the Cast terminal. It will be reloaded for its departure on January 5.
“The arrival of Captain Kumar and his container ship is a great reminder at the start of this new year that container handling is part of the Port of Montreal’s DNA and has been growing here for over 50 years,” Vachon said.
Image Courtesy: Port of Montreal