THUNDER BAY — The head of the Thunder Bay port authority says the sight of vessels anchored in Thunder Bay every day points to a good beginning for the shipping season.
On Tuesday morning, four vessels were outside the breakwall waiting for clearance to move to a grain elevator.
Six others were at their berths being loaded.
"May tends to be one of the busiest months of the year," said port CEO Chris Heikkinen. "It's fairly common to have ships waiting in the harbour, and it's really dependent on which terminals they're going to. There may be a certain terminal that's booked."
Heikkinen said cargo is moving at a brisk pace.
"Right now, we are ahead of average on most commodities, so it's been a good start."
He said ships typically don't have to stay at anchor for more than a day or two, and it's rare for it to be a week or more.
"Usually that indicates the ship probably arrived ahead of schedule, and it just decided to come in and wait at anchor instead of staying wherever they were, and taking more time to get here."
Ships are allowed to anchor at designated locations beyond the breakwall.
"They anchor in whatever location happens to be free that they feel is a safe place for them at that time," Heikkinen said.
The port authority will release detailed data on ship visits and cargo volumes later this week.
