Prince Rupert catches a rising tide
SHIPPING NEWS: Proximity makes northern B.C. port a key gateway to Asia
Cape Race, Newfoundland, is the closest point in North America to Europe. On our side of the continent, Prince Rupert is the closest point to Asia. If you fail to realize the significance of the comparison, let me enlighten you.
Prince Rupert’s population is growing by leaps and bounds. Why? The container port that was put into operation there just a few short years ago is already not large enough to meet the ever-increasing demand.
Today, that container facility can handle 850,000 units per year, but the demand is more in the 1.3 million containers per year range. So they need to increase its size by a whopping 60 per cent to move another 500-thousand containers a year. It is almost too much to comprehend, but the expansion is already underway.
But, you ask, where is Prince Rupert? Why Prince Rupert? What’s the matter with Vancouver?
Simple really. Vanterm and Centerm, in Vancouver’s inner harbour, are bursting at the seems. They can’t go anywhere but up, and that’s not going to happen.
Deltaport has already expanded once, and there are plans to do it again, but talk is cheap, expansion is not, and so there it remains, for the present time, just plans on the drawing board.
There’s lots of rain in Prince Rupert, but no dust can be found underfoot as the facility expands. They are putting in one more deep sea berth for mega-container ships, plus four more cranes to load and off-load the ships. A much larger container holding yard, and a very major expansion of the rail facilities are also part of the plan. Rail is the main mode of transportation for Prince Rupert.
But still you ask, why is Prince Rupert so important as a port, when many of you reading this column have never been there, have no desire to go there, and probably don’t even know, or care where it is?
Well, it is directly opposite the most northern part of Vancouver Island, but on the coast. An almost straight shot to and from Asia.
Prince Rupert’s container port opened for business in 2007 and quickly became the hub for export of forest material from Northern B.C. to ports in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Korea.
Coming into Prince Rupert are items such as clothing, electronics, auto parts, and even building materials, some of which are made from our own exported B.C. lumber.
From there, the loaded containers head to Central and Eastern Canada by rail. And many, many more containers head to the rail heads in the United States, such as Chicago, and further south.
Containers are coming and going in that northern B.C. port at a faster pace than any other container facility in North America. Volume in 2014 is reported to have increased some 15 per cent over the year previous.
There is a demand and a need today, thus the expenditure of almost $200 million to do the improvements. Everything should be on line and working at full speed by the summer of 2017.
Now, if the Vancouver inner harbour container facilities could get more rail cars into their docks, and get rid of the thousands of U.S.A. destined containers they have stored, using up valuable dock space, maybe our ports could start bragging again about their increase in productivity like Prince Rupert.
Rail service is a major key to success for any container port. Without that required rail service, any container port is quickly clogged.
I could fill a newspaper with stories about life on the road, but why not share yours with readers? Send them to Driving editor Andrew McCredie at amccredie@sunprovince.com.