Business Port authority chalks up nine-per-cent increase in traffic in 2007
C5
NATALIA MANZOCCO
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
SAINT JOHN - After falling into the red in 2006, the Saint John Port Authority posted net revenue of $2.9 million and chalked up a nine-per-cent increase in traffic last year, the port's CEO announced at the authority's annual general meeting Tuesday.
Peter Walsh/Telegraph-Journal
Capt. Al Soppitt, CEO of the Saint John Port Authority, says the addition of an LNG terminal will bring 100 more vessels to the port each year.
"I think we had a tremendous year," Capt. Al Soppitt said. "Exceeding $12 million in gross revenue is a pretty big deal for us."
A record-high cruise season and increases in all areas of marine cargo, coupled with a 17-per-cent decrease in expenses, accounted for the spike in revenue.
In 2006, unprecedented harbour dredging costs and a drastic reduction in the handling of petroleum products contributed to a $381,000 overall loss.
In addition to steady increases in the amount of bulk cargo handled by the port, several developments in 2007 mean promising things for the port authority, Soppitt said. The development of a second Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan mine in the Sussex area, which was announced last year, is expected to more than double the amount of potash passing through the port.
"That's going to be tremendous for Sussex and tremendous for New Brunswick, but it'll also be tremendous for this port," Soppitt said. The addition of a liquefied natural gas terminal, which will be operational by the end of the year, will bring 100 more vessels into the port each year, Soppitt said.
The port authority saw a 45-per-cent increase in miscellaneous forms of cargo in 2007, mostly due to the transportation of 41,400 prefabricated homes destined for Nunavut and 32,000 tonnes of materials to be used in the construction of the LNG terminal.
Cruise traffic saw a 52-per-cent increase, with 134,000 passengers on 53 ships arriving last summer. Seven Carnival ships made exclusive trips to Saint John from New York last year.
"That's the first time we've had cruises where Saint John was the only port of call," Soppitt said.
The Pugsley cruise terminal building, which is scheduled to be completed in September, will help accommodate the record 82 cruise ships scheduled to visit Saint John this summer. Soppitt said the port authority's present goal is to see 200,000 cruise passengers a year.
"This growth is going to be a challenge for the community," Soppitt said. "We're going to have to give (cruise patrons) great things to do, so we can bring them back here by road, or by air - or back on a ship, which we would prefer."
The port hopes to emphasize Saint John's role in the formation of an Atlantic trade gateway through the recently founded Southern New Brunswick Gateway Council.
Port authority chairman Stephen Campbell said the council, which has been in development since the fall, had its first meeting Monday.
"We're quickly forming a list of priorities for gateway funding, with recommendations coming from transport providers themselves," he said.
For Saint John, that means capitalizing on its close proximity to the Caribbean and South America, making it an efficient trade gateway. "We're as close to Brazil as New York," Soppitt said. "We have the sea-distance advantage."
Soppitt hopes to continue to rely on stable cargo such as potash, limestone and petroleum products.
"Those are the basics that are going to give us stability. These cargos either come into New Brunswick and stay here, or they originate here. Then we can focus on attracting gateway cargo, which will move further inland," he said.
