Month: January 2019

Sept-Îles, January 21, 2019 – The M/V Frontier Voyager, a Panama registered vessel, sailing from Kimistu in Japan, was the first ship to arrive in Sept-Îles this year at 3 p.m. on January 9, 2019. The vessel arrived in ballast and will set sail again on January 22, 2019 with 170 000 tons of iron ore from IOC Rio Tinto Mining Company destined for Rotterdam in Holland.

During a short ceremony, Mr. Pierre Gagnon, President and CEO of the Port of Sept-Îles, presented Captain Paeg Sung Hon with the prestigious cane bearing the Port of Sept-Îles insignia.

Several gifts were also offered to the Captain by Mr. Réjean Porlier, Mayor of the City of Sept-Îles, as well as by Mr. Benoit Méthot, General Manager Port and Railway QNS&L, IOC Rio Tinto Mining Company, by Mrs. Lucie Lessard, President of the Seamen’s Center, by Mr. Pierre Côté, Chairman of the Port of Sept-Îles and by Mr. Pierre Gagnon, President and CEO of the Port of Sept-Îles.

This tradition, now in its 32nd year, marks the arrival of the first ship of the year to call the Port. To be eligible, the vessel must come directly from a foreign Port and be bound for a destination outside the country without making any other calls at a Canadian Port.

ABOUT THE PORT OF SEPT-ÎLES

Boasting diverse, state-of-the-art facilities, the Port of Sept-Îles is one of North America’s largest ore-handling ports, with an expected volume of more than 30 million tons in 2019. The port facilities at Sept-Îles play a vital and strategic role in the economy of Eastern Canada. Annual economic impacts are estimated at nearly $1 billion and almost 4,000 direct and indirect jobs.

 

Source :

Patsy Keays
Director, Corporate Affairs
Port of Sept-Îles
418 961-1235
pkeays@portsi.com

SEPT-ÎLES, January 16, 2019 – The Port of Sept-Îles is delighted to announce an increase of 4.7% in volume handled over last year at 25,375,000 tons this year, compared to last year’s 24,231,000 tons. The startup of operations at the multi‑user dock accounted for the entire increase, with over 5.5 million tons handled, which made up for the drop in shipping caused by the labour dispute at IOC Rio Tinto early in the year.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW

We can look back proudly on a successful start for the multi-user dock, with 31 ships loaded in 2018. Its annual capacity of 50 million tons makes it a world-class facility. There are many highly notable accomplishments behind the year’s total volume:

• The successful startup of the Bloom Lake iron mine, whose production exceeded projections. Congratulations to Quebec Iron Ore, a subsidiary of Champion Iron Mines Limited.
• Delivery by Société ferroviaire et portuaire de Pointe-Noire (SFPPN) of its conveyor to connect the new dock and the successful startup of its handling and storage operations.
• Challenges surmounted with aplomb by multi‑user dock operator Logistec, in charge of operations and maintenance, and by the Port’s multi‑user dock team.

The Port made a splash in September with the acquisition of 17 works by local artist Jean-Pier Synnott for display at the Monseigneur Blanche terminal. The outdoor exhibit near the docks provides an additional cultural attraction, not just for cruise ship passengers and tourists, but also for everyone in the Sept-Îles area.

Also in September, the Port had to shut down the Pointe-aux-Basques intermodal terminal pending its securing the funds for the necessary repairs and modernization. Pointe-aux-Basques is the gateway for supplies en route to the hinterland and a port of call supplying the isolated villages of the Lower North Shore.

Another highlight was the arrival of Tacora Resources in November, which completed its financing to restart the Scully Mine and purchased part of New Millennium Iron’s contract with the Port to become a new user of the multi‑user dock. Tacora will significantly increase the Port’s annual volumes, adding a projected 6 million tons per year, and will invest close to $50 million in early 2019 to adapt the SFPPN facilities.

In December the City of Sept-Îles and the Port released the results of the Environmental Observatory for the Bay of Sept-Îles’s five-year study, with the data and findings from phases I, II, and III. The data and studies found the environment to be in good condition overall and will serve as a baseline for future protection and management of the Bay of Sept-Îles’s priceless ecosystem.

The 2018 cruise ship season clocked in as the second best the Port has ever had, with five ships and 7,960 passengers and crew members. And who could forget the second visit of the Queen Mary 2 in September, along with a visit by Mylène Paquette to talk about her perilous Atlantic crossing!

“Without any doubt, the multi-user dock sparked a revival of iron ore activities in 2018,” said Port of Sept-Îles president and CEO Pierre D. Gagnon. “The dock is a world-class strategic infrastructure that’s already a powerful driver of the Port’s growth and development.”

ABOUT THE PORT OF SEPT-ÎLES

Boasting diverse, state-of-the-art facilities, the Port of Sept-Îles is one of North America’s largest ore-handling ports, with an expected volume of more than 30 million tons in 2018. The port facilities at Sept-Îles play a vital and strategic role in the economy of Eastern Canada. Annual economic impacts are estimated at nearly $1 billion and close to 4,000 direct and indirect jobs.

 

Source :

Patsy Keays
Director, Corporate Affairs
Port of Sept-Îles
418 961-1235
pkeays@portsi.com

SEPT-ÎLES, January 15, 2019 – The Port of Sept-Îles is pleased to announce funding for the new volunteer action centre Le Virage in the amount of $55,000 over two years to support its meals-on-wheels program.

The volunteer centre started its meals-on-wheels program in fall 2018, taking over from CISSS-CN, which had been handling the program since the previous volunteer centre closed.

“We at Le Virage were looking for a major partner,” said Jean Caron, chair of the volunteer centre board, “a well-established, credible one known for its economic leadership and social engagement. Our board wanted to connect with a local leader ready to contribute to the development of a new institution with a mission to help an underprivileged and vulnerable population. We knew from our first meetings with the Port that we’d found exactly what we were looking for.”

The Port’s board of directors lost no time deciding to contribute financially to the reboot of the meals-on-wheels program—an essential service for part of the population. The Port was also impressed with the professionalism, commitment, and quality of the resources that make up the centre, which bode well for the success of the program. In the Port’s view, it may potentially become a model of how to channel local volunteer energies to relieve the loneliness and isolation experienced by many: frail elderly people, people with disabilities, and others living alone.

“Our relationship with the community is important to us,” said Port of Sept-Îles chair of the board Pierre Côte, together with Port president & CEO Pierre Gagnon. “Le Virage volunteer centre offers us an opportunity via meals-on-wheels to get closer to people and make a difference. It also reflects our values. We’re very happy to be joining forces with the centre’s other partners, to bring comfort and a smile to many members of our community.”

ABOUT THE PORT OF SEPT-ÎLES

Boasting diverse, state-of-the-art facilities, the Port of Sept-Îles is one of North America’s largest ore-handling ports, with an expected volume of more than 30 million tons in 2019. The port facilities at Sept-Îles play a vital and strategic role in the economy of Eastern Canada. Annual economic impacts are estimated at nearly $1 billion and close to 4,000 direct and indirect jobs.

 

Source :

Patsy Keays
Director, Corporate Affairs
Port of Sept-Îles
418 961-1235
pkeays@portsi.com

Kathleen Côté
Executive Director
Le Virage Volunteer Centre
418 444-2228