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Remote Prince Rupert copes with spate of congestion after freak events

AN unlikely spate of congestion at the remote Port of Prince Rupert, 500 miles north of Vancouver, is ending after a Labour Day hazmat spill resulted in a weekend port shutdown which combined with railyard construction delays to cause dwell times to spike at seven days, reported IHS Media.

Port Authority marketing chief Brian Friesen said container dwell times on-terminal are back down to three to three-and-a-half days, versus the normal two to two-and-a-half days, and the port continues to adjust to handling record volumes, but the port authority wants its beneficial cargo owner (BCO) customers to rest assured that vessel, yard, and rail operations will be back to normal by the end of the month.

"We have been in close contact with BCOs through customer advisories," he said, adding that the port has received a "strong level of support".

Shippers in fact are anxious for the deadline to be met. "Prince Rupert is still a disaster," said Kenneth O'Brien, chief operating officer of Gemini Shippers Group. Prince Rupert for us was an incredibly good gateway, and now the congestion on the pier, the delays on the rail, the delays with the ships, it's incredibly challenging," he said.

DP World, which operates the terminal, is carrying out a "complete recovery plan", Mr Friesen said. The first part of the plan was to clear the container backlog, and that has been accomplished, he said. The rail reconfiguration project, which includes the addition of 6,000 feet of track, is progressing.

By October 30, the port will return to its normal rotation of three first-call inbound transpacific services. In response to the congestion in September, Cosco and Maersk Line switched their first port in-bound calls to Vancouver to lessen the cargo discharge in Prince Rupert.

Container volume year-to-date is up 20 per cent, Mr Friesen said, and that includes an increase in export cargo. Prince Rupert since it opened 10 years ago has attracted mostly container imports from Asia moving to the US Midwest and eastern Canada, with the backhauls being largely empty containers.

This past year Prince Rupert has attracted growing exports of agricultural and forest products. The exports move to the terminal either by rail or by truck. The truck traffic adds yet another factor to the cargo-handling operation because Prince Rupert, which started out with almost 100 per cent rail intermodal cargo, is now processing truck moves at the gate as well.