Euro container bound for Great Lakes on Hwy H2O
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — A 20-foot container is making a ceremonial trek from Europe to the Great Lakes’ largest and farthest inland port — the Port of Duluth-Superior.
As part of its ongoing efforts to promote container shipping on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. has arranged for the container to be shipped from the Port of Aarhus in Denmark.
After arriving at the Port of Duluth, the container will spend the rest of the shipping season traveling to various “Hwy H2O Partner Ports” along the Great Lakes.
The “Hwy H2O Travelling Container” is carrying a load of windmill parts. It is currently aboard the BBC India with a large Hwy H2O themed mural on both sides of the box.
runs between Canada and the United States
Hwy H2O is an alliance of marine mode stakeholders, including eighteen of the largest ports on the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes.
Containers represent an important growth market for the Seaway, says SLSMC. “As international trade continues to intensify, the seaway expects to see an increase in the movement of containers from the East Coast to key inland hub ports. Compared to surface modes of transportation that have experienced various levels of congestion and delays, the St. Lawrence Seaway has the capacity to significantly grow its cargo volumes.”
The campaign’s goal is to raise awareness of the seaway as a complementary intermodal alternative to congested road and rail arteries.
“The fact that we can offer reliability is really a key advantage,” said Aldert van Nieuwkoop, director of market development at the SLSMC. “A number of shippers have already expressed interest in using such a service.”
Recently, the Hamilton Port Authority in southern Ontario has been eagerly urging more container traffic via the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence.
According to a recent report by the Halifax Chronicle Herald, the HPA wants to create a Great Lakes transportation hub by establishing a weekly cargo ferry service between Halifax and Hamilton via the St. Lawrence Seaway.
The service would utilize a vessel with the capacity for about 1,000 20-foot containers and allow container shippers to bypass rail to and from Halifax and Central Canada.
In 2004, the HPA proposed a truck-only ferry across Lake Ontario between Hamilton and Oswego, N.Y.
To highlight the timeliness of shipping containers via the seaway, a contest is being hosted on the Hwy H2O website (www.hwyh2o.com) with a cruise along the St. Lawrence River as the grand prize.
Details of the container’s journey across the Atlantic Ocean and through the Great Lakes will also be posted on the website.
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