Canada: "Port remains strong" without Maersk
Other lines expected to move in and pick up business

The loss of Maersk Line’s business is a setback, but Halterm and the Port of Halifax will recover, says the head of Halterm Container Terminal Ltd. "We are always working on new pieces of business and always have a list of current and future prospects which we continue to diligently work on," said Doug Rose. "There are people who are interested (in Halifax), and the future of the port remains strong because of its location. It will take some time to get these leads developed — they don’t make decisions quickly — but we are really confident we are going to get new business in this port."

Maersk confirmed Friday that it is revamping its MECL 2 service from the Middle East and India to Eastern North America and that Halifax has been dropped from the weekly service. "Maersk Line is responding to a dynamic market demand for faster and more direct service between main markets, and difficult choices had to be made about port coverage," the company said.

"We are concluding a major review of our services to ensure profitable returns and a competitive deployment of vessel assets. An effective date of April 2 has been set for phasing out of the current Halifax service. We are still examining alternatives." The end of service could mean a loss of about 25 per cent of Halterm’s business, or about 45,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units), which is about nine per cent of the overall port business. But the exact loss will take some time to determine and may be less than projected. Other lines calling at Halifax serve similar ports to Maersk so cargo may shift to them.

Canadian Tire spokeswoman Lisa Gibson said the company imports goods through Halifax on four carriers, including Maersk. She said Halifax would not lose the Maersk portion of the business, which would be taken by the other three lines. Robin Anthony, a spokeswoman with Bowater Mersey in Liverpool, which exports newsprint, said Friday that Maersk is one of six carriers the company uses to take its paper to international markets. "We understand that a number of the other carriers that serve the port (Halifax) also serve some of the same ports as the Maersk Line, so we will be exploring our options over the next few weeks," she said.

Brian Gerrior, chairman of the Canadian Retail Shippers Association, whose members such as Sears, Eddie Bauer and Sony import goods through Halifax and process their products through a trans-loading centre in the port, said his members are not Maersk customers so they are not affected by the departure. Mr. Gerrior said the association uses Grand Alliance members Hapag-Lloyd and NYK Line and are talking with OOCL, a third member of the alliance.

He said the group’s focus is "to continue to grow our business in Halifax and support our trans-load operation and the Halifax initiatives we put in place over a year ago." The Halifax Port Authority says it will also do what it can to minimize any losses.

"We have developed relationships with a number of the cargo owners, shippers, importers, exporters, manufacturers and retailers, and we are going to work with them to ensure Halifax still remains a viable gateway for them and they are not dependent on any given ocean carrier," said authority vice-president Michael Cormier. Mr. Rose said Halterm has signed three new service contracts in the past 18 months with China Shipping, Europe West Indies Line and Eimskip Americas, which will begin its service at the end of February. In addition, he said, its major customer, Zim, has had "terrific growth margins" in its business while other Halterm customers are also very strong.

"Yes, Maersk is going but we have had three big wins in the past 18 months and we are pleased with the book of business we have . . . I’m confident we are going to have more contract wins in the near future," he said. Mr. Rose stressed that Maersk made it quite clear that the departure had nothing to do with the service at Halterm or at the Port of Halifax. "They made a large acquisition last year (purchase of P&O Nedlloyd) and they lost a lot of money and they have done what any other corporation would do," he saidMr. Rose said Halifax may very well fit into Maersk’s future services.

"They do have a number of post-Panamax ships and they are looking for ways to participate in the trade through the Suez Canal to the East Coast of North America," he said, referring to ships too wide to pass through the Panama Canal. "They are all big services that may very well find a home in Halifax, so Halifax is important to them from that point of view."

Source: thechronicleherald.ca