THUNDER BAY – Officials are ready for the busiest month of the year at the Port of Thunder Bay.
CEO Chris Heikkinen says the agency is anticipating increased activity compared to the 2022 season.
“You will see a larger number of vessels in the harbour,” Heikkinen said. “We're hoping that Mother Nature continues to work on our side, and give us fair weather so that the ice doesn't get too thick before the closing of the season.”
Heikkinen mentioned that the port has handled a new modern record of approximately 1.5 million tons of potash as of the end of November.
He attributes that in part to global forces that have spiked demand for Canadian potash.
"The global potash industry has changed a little bit in the last couple of years," Heikkinen said. "Of course, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has tightened supply. In Canada, we're producing more potash every year. We're the world's number one potash producer, and our exports are growing and so the port and the seaway are doing our part to participate in that."
He added the port is also looking at near-record numbers of “salty” and laker traffic. “Salty” traffic refers to visiting ocean-going vessels, while the largest lakers are confined to the upper lakes because they are too big to use the Seaway locks.
Larger salties cannot travel farther inland than Montreal, Quebec.
There were slowdowns in October as a result of a St. Lawrence Seaway strike that began on Oct. 22.
A tentative agreement ended the strike a week later, which, according to Heikkinen, was fortunate for them because “the seaway [was able to get] their operations together very quickly.”
Heikkinen also noted that there is an ongoing experiment to extend lock closures by a week, which will give officials an idea as to how much can be gained from the extra week on the tail end of the shipping season.
