Port of Hamilton is shipshape for spring
The first day of spring marks the start of shipping season at the Port of Hamilton.
Twenty-one vessels including ships, tugs and barges that passed the winter and underwent repairs in Hamilton will be venturing back into the Great Lakes starting March 20, says Hamilton Port Authority spokesperson Larissa Fenn.
The maintenance work conducted here is part of an estimated $160 million spent on repair and infrastructure projects this winter by Canadian ship owners and the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation in ports ranging from Sarnia to Port Colborne to Thunder Bay, according to the Chamber of Marine Commerce.
“The (Hamilton) port never really sleeps,” said Fenn. “There’s a lot to do both on board the vessels and on the terminals on land.”
Similar to other ports, some of the work done in Hamilton included safety and mechanical inspections as well as upgrades and repairs, she said.
Work has also continued on a new, $45-million wheat flour mill for the milling division of grainhandling giant Parrish and Heimbecker Limited that sits at the foot of Wellington Street North. Another going concern is a new $50million grain terminal by Winnipeg-based G3 Global Grain Group, at Pier 26 off Eastport Drive. Both are expected to begin service this year.
Since the seaway closed for the winter on Dec. 31, its management corporation tackled projects such as upgrading lighting on locks and bridges, and rehabilitating approach walls and fendering at St. Lambert Lock in Montreal.
Ships that spent the winter in the Port of Hamilton belong to companies such as McKeil Marine, Lower Lakes Marine and Algoma Central, said Fenn.
St. Catharines-based Algoma Central had four ships in Hamilton on winter layup this year, and hired between 10 and 15 extra contractors to work on the vessels, said Kelly Humes, the company’s director of technical services.
While all of their vessels underwent routine maintenance like generator and engine overhauls, their biggest project was a total cargo hold recoating for the Radcliffe R. Latimer, she said, involving “about 50,000 or 60,000 square feet of steel.”