Marine shipping looks to future as it marks Canada’s 150th
When Canada was founded 150 years ago, commercial ships had already plied the waters of the St. Lawrence River for more than 300 years. These ships have traveled here from before Canada’s beginning and continue to sustain its economy as they sail toward the future, both building the nation and reflecting its progress.
The earliest wooden ships in Canada were powered by sails and belonged to fur trading companies who delivered trading goods and supplies and transported furs to Europe. The age of iron ships and motorized propulsion saw shipping capacities expand as the country developed trade in agriculture, mined materials and manufactured goods.
The construction of the Welland Canal and subsequently the St. Lawrence Seaway further strengthened Canada’s international competitiveness. The resulting 13 Canadian and two U.S. locks created the world’s most spectacular lift system allowing ships to be raised to more than 180 metres above sea level in what has been hailed as the greatest engineering feat since the construction of the Panama Canal.
Canadian ingenuity helped to transform the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway (GLSL) corridor into a world-class thoroughfare for commerce moving within the region and between North America and more than 60 countries.
“This bi-national marine superhighway represents a unique resource, but one that operates out of sight of most people,” says Bruce R. Burrows, president of the Chamber of Marine Commerce, which represents more than 130 Canadian and U.S. ports, ship operators, service providers and customers relying on marine transportation.
“Many people may not realize that this navigation system was instrumental to the development of Canadian industries and cities over the past 150 years and that it still connects 100+ ports across the region, supporting 227,000 jobs on both sides of the border.”
Marine shipping touches everyone’s lives. Ships carry grain from the prairies and Ontario, with one single vessel able to carry enough wheat to make 46 million loaves of bread. They deliver the salt that deices our roads, the sugar that sweetens our coffee, the fuel in our cars and planes. They supply iron ore to Hamilton steelmakers. They haul construction materials used to build Toronto’s condominium towers, Montreal’s new Champlain Bridge and Windsor’s Herb Gray Parkway.
“Countless businesses, farmers and municipalities in Niagara, and actually across Canada count on this navigation system because it’s the most cost-effective and environmentally-smart way to move products and materials,” says Burrows.
A single freighter can carry more than 30,000 tonnes of cargo. It would take 300 rail cars, or close to 1000 large trucks to equal that feat.
That level of efficiency is only part of marine transport’s environmental story. A ship is able to carry that cargo using less fuel and producing less carbon emissions than land-based alternatives. A study published in 2013 by consultants Research and Traffic Group (RTG), showed that rail would produce 19 per cent and trucks 533 per cent more GHGs per cargo tonne/kilometre if they carried the same cargo the same distance as the Great Lakes-Seaway fleet.
Earlier this month, Canadian Great Lakes-St. Lawrence shipowners went even further in their commitment to the environment, endorsing proposed targets to reduce global shipping carbon emissions per tonne-kilometre by 50 per cent by 2050.
“People often think of innovation as something they only see in high-tech startups,” says Burrows. “However, we see innovation transforming all aspects of the marine shipping logistics chain. Ships, ports and terminals are all using new technology and practices to become more efficient and to reduce their environmental footprint”.
The St. Lawrence Seaway, for example, developed the world’s first automated hands-free mooring for ships in a locks system.
Shipowners are spending billions on new and improved vessels with automated systems for dust-free unloading of cargo and specially-designed hulls and engines that slash fuel consumption. Some vessels are equipped with exhaust gas scrubbers, while others are able to operate on alternative fuels like liquefied natural gas, to significantly reduce air emissions.
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence marine industry as a whole also helped create an environmental improvement program called Green Marine, which has now expanded across all of North America.
“Canada’s marine shipping sector represents a great untapped resource,” says Burrows. “Inland and coastal shipping has tremendous potential to move even more cargo, to expand world trade and to play a significant role in meeting our country’s environmental goals. It’s a story we’ll be proud to tell at Canada’s bicentennial.”