THUNDER BAY — Some of the revenue the Thunder Bay Port Authority will gain from pending increases in fees charged to ship operators will likely be used to maintain the breakwall in the coming years.
The port authority has posted a notice about rate hikes that will take effect in February 2026 and February 2027.
Operators are charged a fee for using the shipping lanes in the harbour, based on the size of the ship and the goods it is either delivering or picking up.
Port CEO Chris Heikkinen said the authority is mandated to be financially self-sufficient and receives no operational funding from the federal government.
Accordingly, it relies partly on harbour dues to carry out its responsibilities for port administration, security, safety, infrastructure maintenance, business development and other duties.
Rates stayed the same from 1989 until this year when the first increase was implemented.
Over the next two years they will go up by 35 to 50 cents a tonne, amounting to a more than 100 per cent increase.
Heikkinen, however, does not expect this will deter shippers from using the Port of Thunder Bay, which currently has the lowest harbour rates and revenue-per-cargo-tonne of any port authority in Canada.
"Because our rates are so low, we don't foresee any impact to our harbour cargo volumes. By moving our rates to market value, we did a lot of analysis...We are confident this is the responsible thing to do, and the fair thing to do."
He estimated the fee hikes will bring in $2 million to $2.5 million a year in new revenue.
Some of the money will be applied to general operations, but the rest will be set aside to maintain infrastructure, including the harbour's breakwall, which is over 10 kilometres long.
"It's a massive piece of infrastructure, and it's not new. There's currently a study on that, but it's going to take considerable funds to maintain in the coming years, so that's a big part of why we are doing this as well," Heikkinen said.
Starting in 2028, local harbour tariffs will be subject to annual review.
