THUNDER BAY – When it comes to sailing the Great Lakes, Adam Hagen is a bit of a traditionalist.
A veteran of 25 years on the water, the captain of the bulker Harvest Spirit said for years he’d look down from his ship’s deck when his captain of the day was honoured in early spring, at the helm of the first laker to arrive in Thunder Bay to open the shipping season.
On Sunday, it was Hagen who took the ceremonial top hat from Patrick Bushby, chair of the Port of Thunder Bay’s board of directors.
It’s quite the honour, the veteran sailor said.
“Thunder Bay is definitely our most important port of call and I believe it’s one of the most important ports of call in Canada,” said Hagen, who expects to make 26 trips to the port before the shipping season shuts down again next winter.
“Putting grain through the Great Lakes not only adds to the tradition of more than 100 years of shipping, but also, it’s a great economic engine. Great Lakes shipping is an old industry and, although it’s suffered a few pitfalls in the last few years, it’s a great employer. It’s the most economical and environmentally friendly way to ship anything, and I’m a big proponent.”
Hagen, who said this particular journey to Thunder Bay was mostly smooth sailing and uneventful, said it’s a bit of a weird feeling being the honouree and not just watching from above.
“For the longest time I was the youngest guy on the vessel and now I’m old hat. I don’t know exactly when that happened,” he said.
“It’s great. It’s given me a good life.”
The MV Harvest Spirit, which arrived on Saturday evening, was loaded up with mostly canola, a load supplemented with soy beans. It has up to 16 crew members at any given time and was berthed in Windsor, Ont. over the winter.
“That’s a typical run for us, canola and soy beans out of Thunder Bay. Every once in a while we’ll take wheat, but more often than not, canola.”
The grain is expected to be processed in southern Ontario.
Port Authority CEO Chris Heikkinen said the vessel’s arrival tied the record for the earliest start to Thunder Bay’s shipping season, and noted the expected arrival this week of the first ocean-going vessel will likely set a new record, by four or five days, in that category.
All signs are pointing to a great shipping season ahead, he said.
Honouring the first ship of the season dates back decades, Heikkinen added.
“It’s nice to show the community and the city that shipping is under way for another season. Marine shipping is so vital to the global supply chain. Over 80 per cent of all global goods are shipped on a marine vessel,” Heikkinen said.
“But it’s also important to this city and this community because the port is a huge driver of the economy here in Thunder Bay. So we always like to recognize the first ship that kind of leads the way for opening the season and thanking the captain and chief engineer for leading that charge.”
In addition to grain, Heikkinen said plenty of other cargo, including steel pipes and rails, is expected to flow through the port in 2024.
The McKeil Marine's MV Harvest Spirit, built in 2012, was also the first laker to arrive in Thunder Bay in 2023.
