THUNDER BAY -- As the clock strikes midnight Monday, the city’s shipping season will come to a close as the last ship leaves the port.
The Saginaw will head out of Thunder Bay Monday night loaded with 15,000 tonnes of grain destined for southern Ontario.
Thunder Bay Port Authority CEO Tim Heney said the Saginaw comes to the city often throughout the year and has to reach the Soo Locks by Tuesday.
The total number of ships the port saw this season was 410, which Heney said is up from last year. They’ve seen a 41 per cent increase in ocean vessels alone.
“It’s been quite a year of firsts for the port,” he said, adding the wheat board losing its monopoly seems to be positive for the Thunder Bay port.
This season saw the greatest wheat tonnage on ocean vessels in eight years and the most grain in a single year since 2001 – about 4.8 million tonnes.
Heney also said they’ll have 13 new lake vessels – two have already come into service and the remainder will in the next year.
“We have a new fleet. We have a new crane,” he said.
The shipping season is now closed until the end of March when the port expects its first ship.
