St. Anthony could become major port for Arctic

The directors behind the much-anticipated Crémaillère Harbour Marine Port project held their first meeting with the public last week.

The proposed port would make St. Anthony a key location for travel and shipping now that activity in the Arctic is growing.

“This is a local project, but it is open to the world,” Great Northern Port Inc. director Francois-xavier Morency said.

“We are well located in terms of global connectivity. Traffic in the north is increasing and many possibilities are there.

“As the north is opened up, we will profit.”

A variety of interested parties attended the meeting at the Grenfell Interpretation Centre in St. Anthony on May 19. The multifaceted project has been in the works since November 2016, and Morency, who led the presentation, hopes the project will see its first shovel in the ground by the spring of 2020.

A variety of assessment and report work has already been done for the project, with the requirement of the land the next immediate goal for its development.

The proposed full-service offshore marine base would include roads, warehouses, fabrication and laydown areas, a diesel and base oil fuel tank farm, and docks.

Whether it be untapped oil resources of the Arctic, shipping routes to Europe or even offering a northern hub for coast guard and military supply and repair, the Crémaillère Harbour project could become a centre of movement on several fronts.

With so many possibilities, Colleen Oliver, director of corporate affairs for Great Northern Port Inc., stood before the attendees and expressed the need for a sustainable future in the Great Northern Peninsula region, and that this project could play an essential role in fulfilling that need.

“We know the reality of the magnitude of this project. The work that has gone into this thus far is unbelievable. But we need everybody’s input to make this go forward,” said Oliver.

“The population of St. Anthony is declining. Out-migration in this province is crazy. It’s an abysmal future in the current model. We need this and we need your help.” Morency said Great Northern Port Inc. would like to see as much local employment from this project as possible.

“We hope small businesses will sprout from the activity with this port, and the goal is to get a good percentage of Newfoundland employment towards the project itself,” he said.

“We want the project rooted in the community, ultimately.” Various goals, estimates, projections and possibilities for the Crémaillère Harbour port were presented on large poster boards.

During his presentation, Morency identified “five poles” the team has developed as key functions for the port. The completed project would be a full-service northern port, naturally sheltered from ice, a re-supply base for coast guard and naval vessels, an air service hub for helicopters that would help enable more northern exploration, a year-round transformation hub for shipping across North America and Europe, and a sustainability centre for oil spill research and other environmental initiatives.

With this diverse range of uses, Morency says the likelihood of the project’s approval by the government increases exponentially.

“If we only try to do one thing, we think the probability of it working is not as good. We want to spread our chances,” he said. Great Northern Port Inc. planned to submit its environmental review report by June 1.

The provincial government would have 45 days to approve the project.

Particularly with its economic impact potentials in mind, many community members in attendance were hopeful the project will go ahead.