No details on Port Weller future
Despite continuing hopes that the Port Weller dry docks will again be operational, the only recent activity apparent at the facility has been the demolition of a few buildings.
St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. spokesman Andrew Bogora said a long- term lease to run the facility was awarded to Heddle Marine Service Inc. more than a year ago. But there has been no word about the facility reopening since then.
And the Hamilton- based shipbuilder that successfully bid on the request for proposals to lease the facility isn’t shedding any light on plans for the dry docks, either.
Contacted at his Hamilton office, Heddle Marine president Rick Heddle would not comment on his company’s plans for the dry docks, or having been awarded the contract to operate it.
But if the owner of a competing firm had his druthers, the dry docks would have been up and running months ago.
Russell Industries founder and president Daniel Russell said he hoped to lease the facility for his company, Canadian Maritime Engineering.
“We wanted to work with the existing union and develop significant amount of jobs,” the St. Catharines native said.
“We wanted to pay rent and pay taxes and were not seeking any government support. We wanted to work with the existing business community and develop a thriving business within the community.”
Instead, the facility continues to sit idle.
“Not having people employed and neglecting and depriving a business community of the economic spin off the Port Weller assets appeared to be a superior proposal to ours,” he said.
Russell called it a “reckless disregard for the watershed environment that the Port Weller shipyard was designed to serve and provide to the marine industry and the watershed that millions of people depend on for their drinking water and wellbeing.”
“It’s a serious problem that needs to be addressed,” he added.
In October, Bogora told The Standard that a limited number of buildings near the bank of the Welland Canal the dry docks were being demolished to make room for cargo handling, but the office building or buildings near Lakeshore Drive would remain standing.
“This is simply a window to more economic activity in the Region, making optimal use of that land to permit new commercial activity,” Bogora said at the time.
The dry docks have been idle since 2015, when Algoma Central Corp. entered a short- term lease to conduct maintenance work on some of its vessels. It’s previous tenant, Seaway Marine and Industrial, went bankrupt in 2013 putting more than 100 people out of work.
Russell’s company Canadian Marine Engineering Ltd. launched a Canadian International Trade Tribunal inquiry in July 2016, asking the agency to look into the procurement process used by the St. Lawrence Seaway to lease the federal- government- owned facility.
Canadian Marine Engineering’s allegations included that the procurement process was not conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement on International Trade, bid evaluations were based on undisclosed criteria, and it wasn’t a fair, open, and transparent process.
The tribunal, however, ruled that it did not have jurisdiction in the matter and dismissed the complaint, allow the lease to Heddle Marine to proceed.
“We’ve gotten nowhere. We spent a ton of money on legal fees,” Russell said. “I don’t want to throw anybody under the bus, but I think this process was flawed.”
He said his company has substantial experience and expertise, employing more than 500 people across the country.
And although his company lost its bid to overturn the lease and run the facility, Russell said the “people who truly lost were the people of St. Catharines.”
Despite the delays, St. Catharines MP Chris Bittle remains hopeful that people will be working at the dry docks again.
“I want the company to really control their destiny on this one as to when they have their opening, but I do know there’s a new tenant and they’ve been doing some preparatory work to start their business operations,” Bittle said, adding he believes those preparations included the recent demolition at the site.
“I expect we’ll have more information in the future, but I’m clearly excited to see the new opportunities that are coming to Port Weller,” he said.
“St. Catharines, throughout our history, has always been tied to the canal and ship building and ship repair, and the dry docks have been down for quite some time. It’s exciting to see a new company coming in to continue that long history that we have in St. Catharines.”
While Bittle said he’s confident the facility will reopen in the future, he couldn’t predict how far into the future that might be.
The Seaway operates independently and is not required to consult with the government on daytoday operations. Nevertheless, Bittle said the federal government has been kept in the loop regarding the dry docks “as best they can.”
“But in terms of a specific opening, I’m not sure,” he said.