It was another healthy haul for the Port of Thunder Bay in 2015 with the western Lake Superior port handling more than 8 million tonnes of grain in 2015, its third best total since 2000.
The port closed to navigation on Jan. 14 following the departure of the M/V Manitoulin loaded with grain from Superior Elevator.
As usual, grain shipments surged prior to the winter freeze-up with more than 2.3 million tonnes loaded aboard domestic “lakers” and ocean-going “salties,” starting from the beginning of November.
The port experienced the strongest cargo tonnage during November and December since 1997 and 1998, respectively.
In a Jan. 28 news release, the port authority said shipments of general and project cargoes remained strong during the year. Keefer Terminal handled 15 such cargoes of structural steel, machinery, wood pellets, wind turbines and stators.
The authority counted 413 vessels during the year, including 125 ocean-going ships, the latter carrying more than 2.1 million tonnes to international ports, 80 per cent higher than the port’s five-year average.
Canadian freighters loaded more than 5.9 million of grain, 15 per cent higher than the five-year average.
The port authority said shippers all along the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway chain are benefitted from increased vessel capacity due to the introduction of the new fleet of lake vessels added in the past few years.
