THE Port of Saint John, the major port on Canada's east coast, is looking to attract bigger ships by dredging to 15.2 metres alongside from the current 12.2 metres.
"We have doubled our container traffic from 45,000 TEU in the past decade to almost 90,000 TEU in 2014, with projections to be over 100,000 TEU in 2015," said Port Saint John CEO Jim Quinn.
"To continue competing and growing on the world stage a terminal upgrade is required to accommodate larger vessels and to have the handling capability required to service modern fleets," Mr Quinn said.
"We also know that US ports are becoming more and more congested. Shippers and receivers are looking for eastern options and with this upgrade we think Port Saint John and New Brunswick can be the solution," he said.
Port Saint John has attracted the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and Tropical Shipping.
It has now submitted a C$205 million (US$164.9 million) application to the federal government's Building Canada Fund, National Infrastructure Component to modernise its container port.
The dredging programme to deepen the main channel and the berths alongside the container terminal at Port the Saint John in New Brunswick would cost C$38 million, a port spokeswoman told IHS Maritime 360.
She added that the dredging would take about three years and could begin as early as 2018.
PORTS
28 January 2015 - 22:48
New Brunswick's Saint John seeks to dredge for bigger ships
THE Port of Saint John, the major port on Canada's east coast, is looking to attract bigger ships by dredging to 15.2 metres alongside from the current 12.2 metres.
PORTS
28 January 2015 - 22:48
New Brunswick's Saint John seeks to dredge for bigger ships
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