Vessel Firsts: Duluth, Montreal, New Orleans

A brand new Algoma Central bulk carrier loaded iron ore for the first time at the Port of Duluth-Superior earlier this month. The Port of Montreal earlier this month hosted its largest tanker ever, the 112,139 deadweight metric ton Aframaxer Overseas Portland. Royal Caribbean International’s Serenade of the Seas has begun a season of alternating Bahamas and western Caribbean cruises from the Port of New Orleans. 

Duluth/Superior Greets New Algoma Central Bulk Carrier

Algoma Central Corporation’s brand new Algoma Equinox made her way to the Port of Duluth-Superior on Wednesday, December 11, to load iron ore for Cleveland Cliffs at the BNSF Railway Dock in Superior. This marked the ship’s first full transit of the entire Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway.  

The Algoma Equinox departed her builder’s shipyard in Nantong, China, on October 1, transiting 14,700 nautical miles over the course of 61 days. After transiting the Panama Canal in mid-November, the vessel arrived in Canada for its first load iron ore from ArcelorMittal Mining Canada in Port Cartier, Quebec, on Dec. 1. The ship departed the following day en route to Hamilton, with her first official cargo to unload at the ArcelorMittal Dofasco dock – officially entering the Seaway for the first time at the St. Lambert Lock in Montreal on December 3. The iron ore pellets loaded at BNSF in Superior are headed to Quebec City. 

This gearless bulker is the first in a series of eight Equinox Class vessels being built at the Nantong Mingde shipyard, all designed for service on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence waterway. Delivery of the other seven will occur at approximately three month intervals through 2014-2015. The series consists of four gearless bulk carriers and four self-unloading bulk carriers. Algoma will own six of the series, including two gearless bulkers and four self-unloading vessels. CWB, formerly the Canadian Wheat Board, will own the other two gearless bulkers, which will be operated and managed by Algoma.  

Montreal Hosts Its Largest Tanker Ever 

The Port of Montreal earlier this month hosted the largest petroleum tanker ever to visit the port. MT Overseas Portland, carrying 475,000 barrels of crude oil, left St. James, Louisiana, on November 26 and docked at the Suncor berth, Section 109, in Montreal’s Pointe-aux-Trembles area on December 5. 

Aframax vessels such as Overseas Portland are tankers with a deadweight ranging between 80,000 and 120,000 metric tons. They are the largest vessels for which the Average Freight Rate Assessment (AFRA) system is used and from which the name "Aframax" derives. Built in 2002, the 112,139 deadweight ton Overseas Portland is 250.2 meters/820.9 feet long and 44 meters/144.4 feet wide. 

In May 2013, the maximum width of vessels authorized to sail in the Quebec-Montreal section of the St. Lawrence navigation channel increased to 44 meters from 32.1 meters/105.3 feet (Advisory, May 20, 2013). The Canadian Coast Guard made the decision following a study commissioned by the Montreal Port Authority and conducted jointly with Transport Canada, the Laurentian Pilotage Authority and the Corporation of Central St. Lawrence Pilots. 

"The Port of Montreal has thereby reinforced its strategic position as a logistics and transportation hub of choice for all types of cargo," said Sylvie Vachon, president and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority. 

The port handled 9,721,422 tons of liquid bulk cargo in 2012.

New Orleans Welcomes Maiden Voyage of Royal Caribbean International’s Serenade of the Seas 

Royal Caribbean International’s newly upgraded 2,360-passenger Serenade of the Seas arrived at the Port of New Orleans’ Julia Street Cruise Terrminal December 12 to sail weekly itineraries through April. The 965-foot cruise ship was completely refurbished in December 2012 and replaces Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas, which was home-ported in New Orleans during the 2012-13 cruise season.

Serenade of the Seas departed New Orleans later that day on a nine-night Caribbean adventure cruise to Key West (Florida), Labadee (Haiti), Falmouth (Jamaica), and George Town (Grand Cayman). For the remainder of the season, the ship will sail alternating seven-night Bahamas and Western Caribbean itineraries from Julia Street Cruise Terminal.

"We are happy to have Royal Caribbean return this year and bring this magnificent ship to New Orleans," said Port President Gary LaGrange, PPM®. "Royal Caribbean is a perfect fit for the New Orleans tourism demographic and offers a wide variety of itineraries throughout the Bahamas and the Caribbean."

New Orleans ranks among the busiest U.S. cruise ports, handling in 2012 a record 968. 849 revenue passengers and 180 ship calls. Cruise Line International Association found cruise industry spending last year in Louisiana grew 42.5 percent to $399 million, generating 7,548 jobs and $94 million in income.  

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