Partnerships: Indiana/Québec

Québec and Indiana Form Great Lakes Shipping Partnership

The State of Indiana has joined the Province of Québec in a partnership aimed at promoting Great Lakes/St. Lawrence System shipping and maritime economic development.  

More specifically, the initiative announced September 29 by Québec Minister of International Relations and Francophonie Christine St-Pierre and Indiana Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann will focus on short-sea shipping.

This collaboration is a direct result of the work of the Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers' Regional Maritime Initiative, the unveiling of the Québec Maritime Strategy in July 2015 and the Indiana Blue Ribbon Panel on Transportation Infrastructure.

"Indiana is a significant economic partner of Québec in the Midwest, especially with respect to maritime transportation," said Minister St-Pierre. "This partnership with Indiana shows that the new Québec Maritime Strategy already has a strong positive impact in our relations with our largest trading partner, the United States. This bodes well for the future, as Québec's exports to the Midwest have grown by 30 percent since 2010."

In Québec, under the leadership of the Marine Industry Forum, the Québec Shortsea Shipping Round Table is engaged in the promotion and the development of short-sea shipping, acting as a hub of short sea related information and expertise. Short-sea shipping reportedly accounts for 20 percent of shipping traffic at St. Lawrence River ports and is a key priority of the Québec Maritime Strategy.

"The province of Québec and the state of Indiana are connected by more than just water," said Lt. Governor Ellspermann. "We share strong manufacturing sectors, robust multimodal transportation systems, and a heavy reliance on Great Lakes shipping. As two of the leading maritime economies on the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway, Québec and Indiana represent a large part of the business activity generated by shipping in this region. We hope this maritime partnership will lead to increased opportunities for collaboration between our economies."

Indiana currently handles nearly 30 million tons of cargo per year on short-sea shipping movements across the Great Lakes, much of it iron ore destined for steel mills in Northwest Indiana. The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, which is one of the leading steel ports on the Great Lakes, also shares a strong business partnership with the Québec-based Fednav Limited, a leading Great Lakes shipping line. Fednav provides regular ocean service to Burns Harbor and is the corporate parent of the port's general cargo terminal operator, Federal Marine Terminals.  

Québec and Indiana will work together to increase this bilateral and multilateral collaboration on short-sea shipping, and will invite other partners from the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence economic region to join them. Areas of collaboration could include industry workshops, exchange of best practices, applied research based on the needs of the shipping industry, as well as joint studies involving collaboration between industry, government and academic institutions.