Cargo shipments up in November
Grain shipments on the St. Lawrence Seaway continue to be down, according to figures released for November by the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp.
Though grain was down 10.46 per cent, overall cargo shipped in November was 2,617,000 metric tonnes, up 8.45 per cent over the same time period last year.
Iron ore continues to be the main performer for the Seaway, with shipments up 34.67 per cent in November. General cargo and dry bulk also saw increases of 27.75 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.
Coal and liquid bulk shipments in November of this saw slight increases over the same time period as last year, the Seaway reported.
It also reported overall vessel transits throughout the month up nearly six per cent.
One of the vessels that transits the 3,700- kilometre waterway between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and west end of Lake Superior is Canada Steamship Lines’ MV Whitefish Bay, which recently reached a historic safety milestone according to the company.
On its website, CSL said the vessel achieved an unprecedented four operational years in the Great Lakes- St- Lawrence Seaway system without a single lost- time incident.
On December 10, the 34,500 DWT Trillium Class self- unloading laker, a frequent visitor to the Welland Canal, became the first in CSL’s Canadian fleet to earn a platinum SafePartners pennant.
The company said since the vessel’s delivery and maiden voyage in 2013, not a single crew member has suffered an LTI in the line of duty.
“Congratulations to the crew for this outstanding accomplishment that speaks volumes about the exceptional safety culture and leadership on board Whitefish Bay. It also demonstrates that achieving our goal of zero harm fleet- wide is attainable when we work as a team and accept no compromises when it comes to health and safety,” said Louis Martel, president and CEO of The CSL Group.
The company said since the introduction of its homegrown SafePartners program in 2012, fleet safety performance has improved by 86 per cent.
“Receiving the platinum pennant shows that the SafePartners Program is working to improve our safety culture,” said Whitefish Bay captain Kenny Thorne.