Port Spotlight
infrastructure: working with local utilities and road authorities to raise or bury power, telephone and cable lines so that they do not create an obstruction, putting street lights on arms so that they can be swung out of the way as large objects move through the city, and ensuring that underground infrastructure is sufficient to support objects weighing up to two million pounds. Since divestiture, Sarnia Harbour has also embarked on an electrical service upgrade program to ensure that ships coming into the port have a secure supply of hydro. Two dockside electrical facilities already have been rebuilt, one is currently being rebuilt, and one will be rebuilt next year. “By the time we are done, we will have invested about $1.35 million to rebuild our electrical facilities,” Hungerford says. Another major initiative will be a maintenance-dredging program in the harbor in 2016. The project will remove an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 cubic meters of sediments not collected when Transport Canada last dredged the harbor in 2012 plus accretion that has occurred since then.
FOCUS ON LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY From a financial and long-term sustainability perspective, Hungerford says that a business plan conceived prior to divestiture demonstrated that revenues from berthage, wharfage and other charges would offset the harbor’s operating and capital costs. “The monies that we received from the federal government had not been factored
“One of the political imperatives when divestiture of the harbor was considered was to ensure that it could be run at no net cost to city taxpayers,” Hungerford explains. “So, in fact, it is actually creating a net benefit to the city because it creates employment and generates a fair amount of business for many of our local companies.” Ship repair and maintenance is another major industry in Sarnia. Algoma Central Corporation and Algoma Ship Repair rely on Sarnia Harbour for winter berthage and occasional berthage throughout the shipping season,” says Captain Tom Anderson, director ports and harbors, for Algoma Central Corporation. “The harbor is a well-maintained facility and is suited for ship maintenance and repair.” Cargill AgHorizons Canada is also an active partner in the operation of the harbor. About 600,000 metric tons of wheat, soybeans and corn are exported and some 100,000 metric tons of fertilizer are imported through its Sarnia transfer terminal annually. “The port is very important to farmers in Southern Ontario as a large percentage of the grain they grow has to be exported,” says Terry Barros, general manager of the Sarnia terminal. “It is important to have a facility like Cargill AgHorizons Canada in Sarnia in position to export to markets around the world the excess grain that is not used domestically.” Barros says Cargill AgHorizons Canada was very pleased when port divestiture occurred because it ensured that the port would be maintained, upgrades would occur, and the harbor would continue to be dredged to Seaway drafts.
SARNIA HARBOUR • • • • • •
39
Comprised of lands and water lots collectively forming the Government Wharf and Warehouse Area, the East Dock and the North Slip 2.5 hectares of land and 1250 meters of berthage. Cargoes: Grain, fertilizer and salt Total annual tonnage: between 750,000 – 1,000,000 per metric tons Terminal Operators: Cargill AgHorizons Canada Ship repair and maintenance: provides temporary layup and/or emergency repairs during the regular shipping season (60 to 80 vessels during a typical shipping season). Ten to twelve vessels berth at the harbor for layup and/or repair during a typical winter season. into our business plan,” Hungerford says. “From an operating perspective, the revenues derived from the harbor are put into a reserve to ensure its long-term sustainability. The federal monies are being used to operate the harbor and to undertake capital improvements. We have 15 years to spend the federal monies. At the end of 15 years, we’ll still have a reserve of similar proportion to continue to sustain the harbor.
“It gave us the assurance that the port would continue to operate as a commercial harbor and allow us to reach markets around the world,” Barros adds. “It’s good for other businesses, too. The city is very committed to the port. For us, it’s a commitment of a strong and positive relationship.” n
39