Milestones: Montreal, Sept-Iles

Port of Montreal Honors its First Ship of 2016

Montreal Port Authority (MPA) President and CEO Sylvie Vachon on January 4 officially inaugurated the start of a new year of activity at the Port of Montreal by presenting the Gold-Headed Cane to Captain Jun Eric Aljo Dalipe, master of the Vigorous, the first ocean-going vessel to reach the port without a stopover in 2016. M/V Spaarnegracht was the first ship of the year to call the Port of Sept-Îles, arriving in ballast from Savannah at 9:47 a.m. on Sunday, January 3.

The 177th Gold-Headed Cane presentation ceremony brought together numerous representatives of the maritime industry and Montreal’s business and cultural communities as well as political figures.

The event also allowed the MPA to recognize the work of Corporation du Saint-Laurent Central pilots Pierre Labelle and Pierre Audette, who brought the vessel safely into port.

A bulk carrier registered in the Marshall Island, Vigorous departed the Omani Port of Sohar on November 8 and crossed the Port of Montreal's limits at 5:21 a.m. on Friday, January 1. Vigorous than docked at berth # 1 at Contrecœur terminal and began discharging its cargo of urea.

The terminal is operated by Logistec, which recently invested nearly C$12 million in upgrades and new equipment at Contrecœur, including a crane.

Originally, the Gold-Headed Cane celebrated the arrival of the first vessel to make it through the ice in springtime. This year’s ceremony is a reminder that the port has been open year round since 1964.

Unaudited data statistics indicate that the Port of Montreal handled a record 31.9 million metric tons of cargo in 2015, an increase of 4.7 percent from the previous record, 30.4 million tons in 2014.

2015 was a record year, too, for cruise traffic at the Port of Montreal. Altogether, the port welcomed more than 91,000 passengers and crew members, an increase of 28 percent from 2014 and 97 percent higher than in 2011.

Montreal Port Authority CEO Sylvie Vachon presents the Gold Head Cane to Captain Jun Eric Aljo Dalipe, master of the first ocean-going vessel to enter the Port of Montreal without a stopover in 2016.
Photo/Montreal Port Authority

Port of Sept-Îles Hands out Its 29th Cane to the First Ship of the Year

 
M/V Spaarnegracht at the La Relance Terminal
Photo/ Sept-Îles Port Authority

M/V Spaarnegracht was the first ship of the year to call the Port of Sept-Îles, arriving in ballast from Savannah at 9:47 a.m. on Sunday, January 3. Spaarnegracht is a 21,402 dwt general cargo vessel registered in the Netherlands. It departed La Relance Terminal two days later bound for Baltimore with a cargo of 10,000 tons of aluminum from Aluminerie Alouette.

The cane bearing the Port of Sept-Îles’ insignia was presented January 4 at La Relance terminal to Captain Hajo Y. van Losenoord by Mr. Raynald Ouellet, Vice-president, Operations and Business Development of the Port of Sept-Îles, while accompanied by Mr. Jean-Pierre Castilloux of Aluminerie Alouette and representatives of Logistec Stevedoring and the vessel’s owner, Spliethoff.

This tradition, now in its 29th year, is observed with a special ceremony for the arrival of the first ship of the year to call the port. To be eligible, the vessel must come directly from a foreign port and be bound for a destination outside Canada without intermediate calls at another Canadian port.

Redesigned in 2012, the cane showcases the region’s industrial pillars that do business at the port. It includes aluminum in its composition and highlights an iron ore rock, with brilliance reflected in a half sphere of acrylic. The seven stars of the port logo, which represent the seven islands in the Bay of Sept-Îles, were replicated in 10-carat gold to adorn the cane band. 

 
The cane presented to Sept-Iles’ first ship of 2016.
Photo/ Sept-Îles Port Authority