Belledune cargo service put on hold

BATHURST, N.B. — The Port of Belledune will wait another few months before launching its cargo service to Corner Brook, Nfld.

Georges Marcoux, president of the port, says there are still “a couple things we need to resolve,” delaying the initial June launch.

“I hope by the end of July or the end of August, we’ll see the first ship sailing,” he says.

One concern involves the kind of modifications the Belledune port will require to accomodate its ship, which has a straight stern. The group must decide what kind of infrastructure and engineering adaptations they’d need to handle shipments.

The other involves fee structure. On the Corner Brook side, the port has not been transferred from Transport Canada to a local port authority. That means rates there are set by the federal body, while Belledune is able to adjust its own tolls.

As the rates are currently set, the Corner Brook charges are three times more than those in Belledune. Marcoux says they are working to have the Newfoundland rates pulled in line with their own.

Rigel Shipping of Shediac is handling customers and, Marcoux says, “everything is going great on that side.”