Chris Heikkinen had to hit the ground running in his new role as chief executive officer (CEO) of the Thunder Bay Port Authority.
After first joining the authority in 2010, Heikkinen officially took over the role on Oct.11, after it was vacated by the retiring Tim Heney.
“The [St. Lawrence Seaway] strike was an interesting way to start off the gig. It was our first seaway strike in decades,” laughed Heikkinen during an interview on Dec. 11. “That was an interesting challenge, especially because we weren't at the bargaining table ourselves. But it was really great to see [the] industry come together and put [the strike] to rest fairly quickly.”
Unifor and the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation reached a deal late on Oct. 29, which put an end to a strike that began a week before, in the middle of one of the busiest times of the year for the Seaway.
Before assuming the role of CEO, Heikkinen was the director of business development and terminal operations.
With the warmer weather to start December, Heikkinen was asked what 2024 could look like for the port, especially with the possibility of a longer shipping season.
“You’re seeing the lock operations experiment with longer seasons. If you look back historically [over a 60-year period], the seaway shipping season has gradually grown larger, almost on an annual basis, so there's certainly opportunity to continue to extend that season should the weather continue to play in our favour.”
The port handled a new modern-record of approximately 1.5 million tons of potash as of the end of November.
— TBnewswatch
