Prince Rupert terminal starting to make waves

[lubicon]

There is an oil pipeline planned / underconsideration to export oil. There is also talk of a condensate pipeline to take condensate FROM the terminal to Alberta, and also some rumblings about a natural gas pipeline to export gas through a NGL terminal. However to the best of my knowledge these projects are all planned to have the terminal at Kitimat, not Prince Rupert.

[Stingray2004]

Yeah, Prince Rupert comprises the container terminal and bulk commodities terminals.

Kitimat is the location for the proposed Enbridge northern gateway oil export pipeline and condensate import pipeline:

The Enbridge Northern Gateway Project involves a new twin pipeline system running from near Edmonton, Alberta, to a new marine terminal in Kitimat, British Columbia to export petroleum and import condensate.

This multi-billion dollar project represents an exciting opportunity for northern BC and Alberta.

http://www.northerngateway.ca/

Kitimat is also the location of the proposed LNG export terminal to be sourced from the huge shale natural gas plays in the Montney/Horn River areas of NE BC.

http://www.kitimatlng.com/code/navigate.asp?Id=2

[YYCguys]

I wonder if Westjet will ever fly into P.R. Is there a big enough market for passengers and/or cargo? I could see Westjet transporting cargo and perhaps cruise ship people?

[bcbringcash]

Coming from Terrace all of this sounds great. After all the mills virtually shut down and people started moving out it has been pretty desolate up there and it really is such a beautiful place. All of those towns need a boost, if you have the extra funds buying a place up there is so affordable. Wouldn't be the worst investment to sit on if you could.

[Millennium2002]

Originally Posted by YYCguys

I wonder if Westjet will ever fly into P.R. Is there a big enough market for passengers and/or cargo? I could see Westjet transporting cargo and perhaps cruise ship people?

Unfortunately accessing the airport is a different story.... as it sits in the middle of nowhere and is accessed only by using a ferry.

It'd be cool however to see how the airport deals with expansion... two terminals? or more ferries? =S

[amor de cosmos]

A delegation of 22 people from a number of Chinese shipping and logistics companies were in Prince George Saturday to hear about the opportunities to move cargo through the region, including increased traffic through Fairview Terminal in Prince Rupert.

Chinese Federation of Logistics and Purchasing president Ren Haoxiang said the delegates were impressed with the facilities they toured in Prince George and Prince Rupert.

“In China and Canada we have a very great opportunity for our countries to cooperate,” Ren said. “We already have had great accomplishments from the last week. We think it is a really great opportunity to start cooperation with Canadian companies.”

The low-cost shipping and logistics opportunities in northern B.C., along with sound government policies, make the area attractive to Chinese shippers, Ren said. The delegation was the second to come to the region from China.

Ren said the federation will promote the region’s competitive advantage to their members in China.

China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) Canada president Qimim Liu said the company will be increasing its service to the Port of Prince Rupert. Previously vessels would stop in Prince Rupert before heading to ports in Vancouver or the U.S, then return directly to China.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/93443504.html

[amor de cosmos]

Prince Rupert Port Authority draft land use plan shows potential for major expansion

By Shaun Thomas - The Northern View
Published: June 01, 2011 1:58 PM
Updated: June 01, 2011 1:58 PM

On June 1 the Prince Rupert Port Authority released its draft 2020 Land Use Management Plan, and it is a document that outlines some significant opportunities for growth in the waters around Prince Rupert.

One of the ideas discussed in the 43-page draft document, which is available at www.rupertport.com, is the expansion of the Ridley Industrial site and the possibility of expanding beyond the current Ridley Island area.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/122973623.html

[amor de cosmos]

Chicago group planning expansion that could send 1-million containers to and from Prince Rupert

By Alan S. Hale - The Northern View
Published: July 10, 2011 5:33 PM
Updated: July 10, 2011 5:33 PM

One of the main selling-points for the Prince Rupert port is the railway connection running between the terminal down to Chicago and all the different markets that can be found in the mid-west United States.

Plans are now underway in the Chicago area to expand a facility for loading and unloading trains to take advantage of the railway connection to Prince Rupert; a project that could ship 1-million containers to and from the Prince Rupert port.

The Chicago Southland Development Corporation (CSDC) is hoping to expand an existing “intermodal logistics park” in the Chicago area, which is used by CN Rail, for its operations there. The CSDC hopes to improve the logistics park in time for completion of the phase II expansion of the Fairview Terminal which is expected, to begin sometime over the next year.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/125308558.html

[Chadillaccc]

Is there talk at all of installing a refinery at or near the Kitimat oil port [or w.e it is? ] and has the regional authority up there discussed plans for encouraging a population surge back to the valley? Other than the Fraser Valley, that valley [I forget the name] is the only other wide-flat valley in the province capable of cost effective major development.

I can't see why, with all the economic opportunities coming to Kitimat and Prince Rupert, there wouldn't be some kind of plan for development.

I apologize if this has been discussed already... but I'd really like to know.

[MalcolmTucker]

Since oil increases in volume when it is turned into products, it makes sense to place refineries close to your markets. As for upgrading, costs are high whereever you upgrade it, with the biggest cost being labour. I doubt costs would be appreciably lower in Kitimat than near Edmonton.

I doubt the pipeline will ever be built, without treaties covering much of the proposed route, and many first nations against the line. .

[amor de cosmos]

I think we can probably expect this sort of thing to happen every year or so:

U.S. Federal Commission asked to investigate Prince Rupert's Fairview Terminal
By Shaun Thomas - The Northern View
Published: July 29, 2011 10:41 AM
Updated: July 29, 2011 10:41 AM

American concerns about container shipments through Fairview Terminal reached a new height last week, as Federal Maritime Commission Chair Richard Lidinsky confirmed that congressmen from the west coast had asked him to investigate Prince Rupert to determine if it puts U.S. ports at an unfair disadvantage.

“It is a very complicated issue, involving the harbor maintenance tax, weaker container inspections, NAFTA and possible subsidy of cargo railroads to Canada, but this issue will have to be studied, so stay tuned,” the Journal of Commerce (www.joc.com) quoted Lidinsky as saying.


The FMC will decide whether to do a formal inquiry, a notice of inquiry or a focussed investigation sometime next month. However, Prince Rupert Port Authority Vice-president of Marketing and Business Development Shaun Stevenson said he's certain the commmission won't find any unfair practices taking place.

“It's concerning because this has been festering for some time in that the efficiencies and advantages of going through Fariview Terminal to get containers to the U.S. has resulted in a lobby in Washington related to subsidies and rail subsidies, which is the furthest thing from the truth. So it's concerning, but we're also confident that if they investigate and research they will find that the only advantages Prince Rupert offers is its location and the efficiency of the operation,” he said, adding that the claim of weaker inspections was also unfounded based on 100 per cent screening at the terminal and additional screening at the border.

“Canadian port authorities were commercialized in 1999, so there is no direct benefit coming from government, we have limited borrowing capacity and we really have to live off of our own revenues...It seems like the west coast ports are trying to find a way to impose a tariff on goods imported through Canada.”

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/126410023.html

FMC's Lidinsky Studying Prince Rupert Impact
Joseph Bonney | Jul 25, 2011 7:22PM GMT
The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story

Federal Maritime Commission looking into whether U.S. ports are unfairly disavantaged

Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Richard Lidinsky said the FMC has been asked by West Coast members of the U.S. Congress to study the movement of cargo via Prince Rupert, British Colombia, to determine whether American ports are unfairly disadvantaged.



Prince Rupert has developed into an efficient competitor for trans-Pacific intermodal shipments that are transferred directly from ship to rail for delivery to the U.S. Midwest.

Lidinsky spoke at the International Longshoremen’s Association’s quadrennial convention in Hollywood, Fla. He was introduced by ILA President Richard Hughes Jr., a lifelong Baltimore resident, as “Catfish,” which Hughes said is a local nickname for natives of east Baltimore, where Lidinsky is from.

The FMC chairman said that when he was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009, his charge included protecting importers, exporters and consumers and helping create jobs. “In every decision we make, my first concern is for jobs, specifically American jobs,” he said.

Lidinsky noted that the percentage of foreign trade carried by U.S.-flag ships declined from 19 percent in 1961, when the FMC was created, to 4.2 percent last year, a figure he called “shocking.”

He said China’s Port of Shanghai handled 29 million 20-foot-equivalent units of containers last year while “all of the ILA ports together, Atlantic and Gulf, had just 20 million.”

http://www.joc.com/portsterminals/fm...-rupert-impact

[bulliver]

I am certainly not well versed in international trade, but wouldn't putting a tariff on goods shipped through Canada be a contravention of NAFTA (like the softwood lumber issue) or does it only apply to goods produced in Canada?

In any event, it is no surprise that the American ports handled less TEUs than Shanghai, as the US doesn't produce much in the way of goods these days. At least no where near as much as they used to.

[MalcolmTucker]

Those ports on the east and gulf coasts volumes will go up quite a bit once the Panama Canal expansion is done. Until then, west coast ports cost advantage is still pretty big.

[amor de cosmos]

Prince Rupert Port Authority announces restricted access to Ridley Island.

By Contributed - The Northern View
Published: August 01, 2011 12:00 PM
Updated: August 01, 2011 1:00 PM

On July 29 the Prince Rupert Port Authority announced that public access to the perimeter road around Ridley Island will be restricted starting Tuesday, August 2nd, as crews and heavy machinery begin preparations for the planned expansion of Ridley Terminals.

The terminal, which is approaching its capacity of 12 million tonnes of coal annually, is set to double its capacity by adding 14 hectares to its 55-hectare working site. The expanded land was acquired from the Prince Rupert Port Authority earlier this year. Addition of a new dumper system is underway, as is the installation of a third stacker/reclaimer.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/126536373.html

[amor de cosmos]

CN upgrades Prince George container facility
By DeLynda Pilon - Prince George Free Press
Published: August 12, 2011 11:00 AM
Updated: August 12, 2011 11:19 AM

The Canadian National Railway in Prince George will be hiring about 25 more employees, nearly doubling its workforce, as it goes ahead with a $3.2 million expansion of the Prince George Distribution Centre.

The expansion will allow the company to go from stuffing 400 containers per day to 700.The expansion comes as a result of increased demand in the Asian market, a change that has positively affected the centre since 2010. Exports are shipped by rail to the Prince Rupert​ facility then are sent overseas, taking advantage of the 58 hours in transit time saved via this route.

When it first opened, the centre employed five people and stuffed about 30 containers per week. Since the Asian boom in 2010, work at the centre has continued to increase exponentially.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/127599138.html

[amor de cosmos]

Sept. 19, 2011
Office of the Premier
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure

Port funding helps B.C. benefit from Asia Pacific trade


The Province confirmed a $15-million contribution for the $90-million Road Rail Utility Corridor project, Phase 1 of a planned $300-million development at the Port of Prince Rupert. This project includes investments of $30 million from CN and $30 million from the Prince Rupert Port Authority. The federal government continues to work through its process to determine its participation with respect to the remaining $15 million.


Funding for the $90-million project includes: $15 million from the Province, $30 million from CN and $30 million from the Prince Rupert Port Authority. The federal government continues to work through its process to determine its participation with respect to the remaining $15 million. The expected start date for the project is mid-2012, with an anticipated completion date in 2014.



The RRUC 1 Project consists of three inbound and two outbound tracks for coal, potash and other bulk terminal developments, two additional tracks that form a loop around the main part of Ridley Island and one new track that extends off the rail loop towards Ridley Terminals. The project also includes 69 kv and water utility connections into the middle of the island to support bulk terminal development as well as road improvements along the new rail corridor.

The potential future Ridley Island developments that would rely on the RRUC 1 Project include:

• Bulk and break-bulk terminal development.
• Expansion of Ridley Terminals to create additional capacity.
• Barge and short sea shipping terminal.
• Automobile roll-on/roll-off terminal.
• General cargoes terminal.

http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_rele...111-001180.htm

Clark promises jobs at Prince Rupert port expansion
CBC News
Posted: Sep 19, 2011 11:16 AM PT
Last Updated: Sep 19, 2011 1:53 PM PT

B.C. Premier Christy Clark kicked off her job creation plan Monday morning in Prince Rupert by announcing the government will contribute $15 million to help develop a road and rail corridor at the port.

The project involves a $90-million expansion of CN Rail lines and utilities in the area to help meet Asia's demand for natural resources, including coal. CN Rail and the Port of Prince Rupert will add $30 million each.

It's part of the first phase of a $300-million expansion planned for Prince Rupert's port terminal involving CN Rail and the Prince Rupert Port Authority.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...ce-rupert.html

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/130130598.html

[amor de cosmos]

Feature Story: Prince Rupert caught in the middle of Canada-US trade dispute
By Alan S. Hale - The Northern View
Published: October 08, 2011 3:00 PM
Updated: October 08, 2011 3:34 PM

Prince Rupert's port has been put in the international spotlight after the US government decided on to investigate accusations that it has an unfair advantage over American ports which is causing carriers to divert their cargo north of the border.

The issue has reached the attention of the federal governments of both countries, and the air is filled with talk of trade wars and accusations of unfair government subsidies. A group of American west coast ports are pushing for a fee on goods that are unloaded in Canada in order to “level the playing field.” But the Prince Rupert Port authority says it will defend the Prince Rupert's competitive advantage from US protectionism if need be, but hopefully it won't come to that.



The Federal Maritime Commission, an independent government body responsible for regulating the commercial use of US waters, voted unanimously on Wednesday to start a study into the effect of the Habour Maintenance Tax on the competitiveness of American ports when compared to ports in Canada and Mexico.

The Harbour Maintenance Tax is charged to shippers when they dock at American ports; the amount paid is determined by the value of the cargo. The money is then used for projects like dredging harbours all over the US. Essentially, the tax is to get companies who use the ports to help pay for their upkeep.

But the thing is, companies unloading cargo at Canadian ports do not have to pay this extra money because Canadian ports are responsible for their own upkeep and simply absorb the expense instead of charging more to shipping companies. Prince Rupert's port has a natural deep-water harbour - the deepest in the country- and so doesn't even need dredging.



Both the Prince Rupert port authority and the Association of Canadian Port Authorities say that the Americans are simply looking for an explanation for why they are not seeing the same growth that is happening at Canadian ports and have settled on the maintenance tax. They say Prince Rupert's advantage is its faster loading and unloading times, a dedicated railway corridor, and having the shortest travelling time to Asia, and has very little to do with not having a harbour maintenance tax.

“Shippers are making their decision [to use Canadian ports] on a whole range of different issues and the harbour maintenance tax doesn't really play into it at all,” says CEO Krusel.



There have been accusations of unfair government subsidies going to ports like Prince Rupert and Vancouver have been coming out of the US. Even commissioner Lindinsky has commented that Canadian ports need to compete in the US without the help of government policy. The Prince Rupert Port Authority has denied that it is subsidized by the government.

“These allegations are totally unsubstantiated and the port of Prince Rupert and all Canadian ports do not enjoy any kind of subsidies. What we do enjoy, especially in Prince Rupert, are some inherent advantages,” says CEO Krusel.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/131394213.html

[amor de cosmos]

DAILY NEWS Nov 29, 2011 3:17 PM - 0 comments
First phase of Ridley Terminals' modification project nearing completion
2011-11-29

PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. -- Ridley Terminals (RTI) has announced that work has begun on its Terminal Modification Project. The project is nearing the end of the first phase of development with the installation of two new dumper barrels, which marks the first realized capacity increase for RTI.

The modifications that are being made throughout the multi-phase project will double RTI's annual shipping capacity from 12 million tonnes to 24 million tonnes. As a result, an additional 20-25 permanent jobs will be available at the terminal, along with many other employment opportunities through contract work, the company announced.

An environmental assessment has been completed for the project and construction began in late August. The terminal modifications will occur in four stages of development, with an expected completion by early 2015. The cost of the project is approximately $200 million, which is fully funded through RTI and a borrowing authority, with no direct government assistance.

The first phase of development involved site preparation of 44 acres of land, and replacement of two dumper barrels. The second phase will involve site civil works, refurbishing and upgrading of two existing stacker/reclaimers, adding a third stacker/reclaimer, and the installation and upgrade of existing rail lines. The third phase includes the installation of a fourth stacker/reclaimer, as well as adding and extending existing conveyor lines. The fourth phase of development adds a new dumper and a new thaw shed to the terminal's operation.

http://www.ctl.ca/news/first-phase-o...on/1000725531/

[albertantraingeek]

Good stuff! Great news for the local economy I imagine

[Chadillaccc]

yayyy