The Prince Rupert Port Authority produces an e:newsletter on the latest developments at their port. As Alaskans continue to be challenged by distance and geography, this Port continues to be of interest for access to/from the lower 48 states due to their rail/tidewater connection and for access to/from Asia and their focus for facilitating trade in and to those markets.

Below is their latest issue with contact information if you are interested in subscribing to stay updated.

November 2007
Port of Prince Rupert
opening a new world of opportunities
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In this issue
Container Cargo Moved from Asia to Chicago in 12 Days
First Container Train Reaches Chicago in 92 Hours
Hanjin's MV London the second CKYH Alliance ship to call at Prince Rupert
COSCO's Wanhe Offloads 1,500 TEUs
COSCO 'Most Committed to Inevitable Success' of New Trade Corridor
Prince George Distribution Centre Opening Creating Corridor Capacity
 
Container Cargo Moved from Asia to Chicago in 12 Days
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The first month of operations has demonstrated the competitive advantage of shipping containers from Asia to the North American mid west through the recently-opened Prince Rupert Container Terminal. 

All four vessels discharged their cargo within 48 hours of arriving in Prince Rupert, their scheduled windows of service, even through the number of offloaded TEUs increased weekly from 1,100 on the first ship to 1,500 TEUs on the fourth vessel. These performance gains reflect the commitment of Maher's terminal operations including the new, but motivated, workforce to achieve a high level of productivity as quickly as possible.

 "The new express trade corridor, anchored by our new intermodal container terminal, is no longer a concept. It's a proven reality," says Port of Prince Rupert President & CEO Don Krusel. "In only a month, the partnership of Maher, CN, the Port and now COSCO has demonstrated beyond a doubt that we can offer shippers unparalleled reliability, speed and efficiency in getting their products to market."
 

The first container ship to ever call on the new container terminal, COSCO's 5,400 TEU MV Antwerp left Yokohama, Japan on October 24 with 1,100 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) of its cargo destined for Prince Rupert. The vessel docked on schedule the night of October 30. Maher commenced the offload shortly after midnight on Oct. 31 with the three new super post-panamax cranes. On November 1, the Antwerp sailed for Vancouver on schedule after loading 712 TEUs bound for Asia. On the same day the first CN train, sped east to Toronto, Montreal and Chicago where it arrived on November 5, only 12 days after the containers left Asia.
 

First Container Train Reaches Chicago in 92 Hours
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The first train from Prince Rupert to Chicago consummated the opening of the new Asia-North America express trade corridor service by completing the trip in a record transit time of 92 hours.
 
Facilitated by CN's recently-completed $25 million infrastructure upgrades to widen tunnels, reinforce bridges and build sidings, the train pulled 9,000 feet of double-stacked containers loaded with merchandise destined for the stores of large eastern retailers. Trains on the northern mainline can pull up to 14,000 feet of rail cars.
 
Hanjin's MV London the second CKYH Alliance ship to call at Prince Rupert
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The second ship of CKYH Alliance's new weekly Pacific Northwest butterfly service to Prince Rupert, Hanjin's London, arrived on November 6 with another 1,100 TEUs and departed on Nov. 8. 
 
The CKYH Alliance, jointly operated by Hanjin Shipping, K-Line, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation and COSCO, will use nine 5,500-TEU ships in the loop: five from Hanjin and four from COSCON. The service starts from Yantian, China with stops at Hong Kong and Yokohama, calls at Port of Prince Rupert and Vancouver, and ending in Seattle.

The CKYH Alliance says it will provide customers with a "new speedy, congestion-free trade corridor - cutting current sailing time up to 58 hours" from Asia to the interior of North America, including the cities of Toronto, Montreal and U.S. Mid West area.
 
Hanjin Shipping is Korea's largest carrier with a fleet of some 200 containerships, bulk carriers, and LNG carriers. Japan-based Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. ("K" Line), has a fleet of 337 vessels including many new state-of-the-art container ships. Yang Ming, based in Taiwan, operates a fleet of 94 vessels while COSCON is China's biggest container shipping company, operating 127 container vessels.

COSCO's Wanhe Offloads 1,500 TEUs
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Partners celebrate COSCO as the first shipping line to call on Prince Rupert on the deck of the Wanhe.
Left to right: Tim Marsh, COSCO VP Sales; Frans van Riemsdyk, Maher Terminals Exec. VP Sales & Marketing; Don Krusel, PRPA President & CEO; Mark Lerner, Ass't VP Intermodal Sales; and Chase Feng, COSCO Exec. VP.  
 
With the new trade corridor quickly proving itself, the third 5,400 TEU ship of the nine-vessel service, COSCO's Wanhe, offloaded nearly 1,500 TEUs November 13-15. An 11,000 foot double-stacked train left Prince Rupert late on November 15, arriving in Chicago early morning, November 20 loaded with machinery, tires, furniture, kitchen appliances, medical supplies, sporting goods, toys, telephone booths, and auto parts.
 
"We expect to see increasingly larger volumes offloaded in Prince Rupert as we gain more experience and continue to improve this service, and shippers become more confident in our abilities to deliver on time," notes PRPA President & CEO Don Krusel.
 
The fourth ship in the service, COSCO's Xiamen, went directly to berth upon arrival under sunny skies this past Tuesday and left on Thursday after offloading 1,500 TEUs.
 
COSCO 'Most Committed to Inevitable Success' of New Trade Corridor
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PRPA Chairman Dale MacLean presents COSCO Managing Director Sun Jia Kang with a uniquely-designed paddle, representing the local First Nations, to recognize COSCO as the first shipping line to call on Prince Rupert. The paddle is made of yellow cedar, a tough, solid and very durable tree that is also known for its great longevity - qualities to reflect the new partnership and express trade corridor.
 
 
China Oceans Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) marked its historic milestone as the first container service calling on Prince Rupert with a ceremony on November 15 involving 80 guests including shippers, partners and company executives from around the world, as well representatives of the local Tsimshian First Nation.
 
"COSCO Container Lines have been quietly watching the development of Prince Rupert's newest Pacific Gateway," COSCO Managing Director Sun Jia Kang told the group. "We see this new Prince Rupert gateway opening many new doors and opportunities not only for COSCO but also for our supporting customers. COSCO is most committed to the inevitable success of this new Pacific Gateway."
 
PRPA Chairman Dale MacLean recognized COSCO "for their foresight, pioneering spirit and vision in being the first shipping line to truly recognize the strategic advantages we bring to the partnership, and not be blown off course by the short-sighted skeptics who said it wouldn't work. Together, we are making history."
 
Prince George Distribution Centre Opening Creating Corridor Capacity
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The official grand opening of CN's new $20 million Intermodal and Distribution Centre in Prince George on November 24 reinforces the transformation of the northern transportation corridor that's underway as a result of the new Prince Rupert container terminal.
 
"We've always maintained that the Prince Rupert container terminal is not just transportation infrastructure, but rather transformational infrastructure that will transform the entire northern half of British Columbia," says PRPA President & CEO Don Krusel. "This new transload facility in Prince George demonstrates the power and speed with which our economy is being transformed."
 
The centre is one of the first initiatives to begin capitalizing on the emerging export opportunities to fill empty containers en route to Asia with wood, pulp and paper products, and possibly ores, plastics and metal products. Prince George is centrally located in one of the highest concentrations of forest product output in the world. Northern B.C. produces sufficient lumber and wood pulp for Asian markets to fill about 62,000 40-foot containers a year. The facility is also projected to generate 750 jobs and a potential annual economic impact of $44.2 million in wages, $35 million in GDP and $84 million in output.
 
The Prince George Chamber of Commerce voted the Port of Prince Rupert, 700 kilometres to the west, as Newsmaker of the Year, reflecting the Prince Rupert container terminal's role as the trigger for all this potential activity and wealth in their city and region.
 
Contact Information:
Barry Bartlett
Prince Rupert Port Authority
200-215 Cow Bay Road
Prince Rupert, B.C.
V8J 1A2
Phone: (250) 627-8899
Fax: (250) 627- 8980