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LA FORCE
du transport maritime
sur le Saint-Laurent
e -l
TheSTRENGTH
of shipping on the
St. Lawrence River
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RÉglementation environnement Transport maritime courte
distance sécurité relations personnel maritime formation
émissions atmosphériques ENJEUX eaux de ballast cabotage
déglaçage collaboration sûreté représentation opérations
efficacité pilotage promotion Développement Partenariat
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Visibilité Transport maritime courte distance environnement
Armateurs domestiques sécurité main-d’oeuvre relations
personnel RÉglementation maritime formation intérêts
with Nova Marine of Switzerland to create Nova Algoma
Cement Carriers. “This new global enterprise will
used highly specialized vessels to transport cement on
shortsea coastal routes,” Mr. Smith says. “We’re hoping
to expand that over time to include more of North
America.”
Mr. Smith says it’s “a bit discouraging” for the industry
to repeatedly face environmental and taxation
rules that don’t readily apply to the rail or truck industries.
“Shortsea shipping ought to be encouraged as the
most efficient and environmentally friendly mode able
to reduce highway congestion,” he says. “We’ve said for
a long while now that there should be a national marine
strategy that takes shortsea shipping’s advantages into
account.”
Niche advantages
Companies with smaller fleets are faring better,
but not without challenges. McKeil Marine focuses on
moving cargos ranging from 9,000 to 15,000 tonnes
with its vessels and barges within the Great Lakes-St.
Lawrence-Atlantic corridor.
“We’re diversified across industries that include
transporting aggregate, steel, as well as more aluminium
for the car industry,” says Steve Fletcher, the company’s
President. “We’re hoping to ship higher volumes
of cement once the anticipated infrastructure spending
begins.”
Longstanding relationships with companies such
as Alouette Aluminum in Sept-Îles have served McKeil
well. “We’re always looking for ways to better serve
these customers,” Mr. Fletcher adds. “So we’ve introduced
the Evans Spirit to our fleet after signing another
long-term contract with Alouette.”
Named after Evans McKeil, the company’s founder,
the new 15,000 DWT vessel is the first of its kind.
It can transport 40 per cent more cargo 50 per cent
faster using a similar amount of fuel. “The shallow
draught characteristics are similar to a tug-and-barge,
making it easier to take into smaller ports,” Mr. Fletcher
adds.
Like others in the industry, McKeil faces stiff competition
from truck and rail. “The 10,000- to 15,000-
tonne range that we handle can be carried by those
modes, so there’s some markets we haven’t cracked
yet but we keep taking a swing at them,” Mr. Fletcher
says
In Quebec, where the provincial government has
offered financial incentives from time to time to set up
facilities to lend themselves to SSS, the advantages have
been evident. “When we first started doing business
with Alouette, for example, we showed the government
that a large tug-barge unit could carry the equivalent
of 260 truckloads,” Mr. Fletcher says. “Over the course
of a shipping season, that’s 19 barge trips or the equivalent
of taking 5,000 trucks off the road.” > page 43
38 Maritime Magazine 80