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Terminal Operations: Montreal, Olympia

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Termont Montréal Inc. to Operate the New Viau Container Terminal 

Termont Montréal Inc. will be the operator of the new Viau container terminal at the Port of Montreal. The port authority and Termont Terminal, Inc., signed a long-term lease on March 19, under which the private company Termont Montréal Inc. will invest C$42 million in the initial phase of the terminal project and an additional C$30 million in phase 2 if demand warrants.

This agreement was announced by the Port Authority CEO Sylvie Vachon in a speech to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. "I am very pleased by this agreement, which is synonymous with economic growth," she said. "And in turn, it shows that Termont has great confidence in the Port of Montreal. I'm sure this project will be very successful!"

Construction will begin this summer on the terminal, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2016. It will boost the port’s container throughput capacity from 1.6 million to 2.1 million TEUs annually. Actual volume last year amounted to 1.4 million TEUs. 

According to the port authority, the fully operational Viau terminal will generate 2,500 direct and indirect jobs and economic benefits amounting to C$340 million.

This project is one of three components of an extensive project to improve the Port of Montreal's infrastructure. It has received a C$43.7 million subsidy from the federal government through the National Infrastructure Component of the New Building Canada Fund. Together, the port authority and the federal government will inject $83 million into the Viau terminal project.

Termont Terminal Inc., a longstanding partner of the Port of Montreal, has been operating the Maisonneuve container terminal since 1987. Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is partnering with Termont in the Viau project. 

Olympia Acquires Mobile Harbor Crane

The cargo handling capabilities of the Port of Olympia have been considerably by a newly delivered mobile harbor crane. The used crane, which arrived from Antwerp on March 1 aboard the Star Louisiana, can perform a variety of heavy lifts, including containers, equipment and over-dimensional and heavier cargoes and provides backup to a ship’s crane in case of failure. 

Technical specs:
  • Height at top of tower: 124 feet/37.8 meters
  • Height at operator cab: 87 feet/26.5 meters
  • Boom length: 173 feet/52/7 meters
  • Total weight, fully rigged: 480 metric tons
  • Lifting capacity: 140 metric tons at 36.1 feet/11 meters
"We are already marketing the port for new lines of business that we were not able to pursue before the addition of this crane," said Marine Terminal Director Len Faucher. "This crane is a modern cargo-handling solution that should help keep Port of Olympia competitive with its market contemporaries. It enables us to enter the heavy lift market and be ready for potential imports and exports." 

Port staff examined both new and used cranes and found the used 2005 model crane to be the best investment value. 

The crane arrived disassembled and International Longshore & Warehouse Union Local 47 carefully unloaded the units. Assembly was completed on March 17. Electrical and engine adjustments are now underway. 

The port anticipates paying $3.2 million for the 2005 model year crane (including disassembly, shipping, reassembly and commissioning), or about $2 million less than the cost of a new version of the same model. 

The port’s former gantry cranes, model years 1968 and 1972, became obsolete and cost-prohibitive to maintain. Having no marketability, they were sold in 2014 as scrap and recycled in British Columbia. The port commission approved a mobile harbor crane as their replacement. 
 

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