By RON SAMSON
January 12, 2009
The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation and U.S. counterpart Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation undertook a trade mission to Genoa, Italy, and Istanbul, Turkey, in November. The delegation included Canadian and U.S. port directors, terminal operators, logistics representatives and marketing trade specialists.
Italy has been an established trading partner for decades, using the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system to move raw materials and finished goods. It is a significant consumer of Great Lakes grain and an important producer of steel products. Italy also presents opportunities for project cargoes such as machinery and equipment destined for Alberta’s oilsands. Italy has hosted two previous Great Lakes-Seaway trade missions, in 1986 and 1995.
Highlights of the Italy portion of the mission included the signing of a memorandum of co-operation between the Seaway’s Highway H2O program and the Ligurian ports in northern Italy. The MOC adds to the relationship already established between the Seaports of Niedersachen in northwestern Europe and the Highway H2O program. It extends Great Lakes-Seaway awareness into the Mediterranean, thereby giving Highway H2O port partners access to a network of ports facing similar issues and challenges and which can often offer new solutions.
An information seminar was held at the Port of Genoa at which the Seaway corporations gave a presentation to a group of some 40 port operators, freight forwarders, carriers and other transportation representatives on the strategic benefits of shipping via the Seaway and the Great Lakes. Delegates met with the Italian Shipowners Association at its Genoa office to discuss ‘Autostrade del Mare’ – Italian for ‘Highways of the Sea’ – and its similarities to the Highway H2O initiative to promote short-sea shipping as part of the solution to ease surface congestion.
Meetings also took place with various freight forwarders specializing in project cargo and with the Freight Forwarders Association of Genoa.
Commodities traded between Turkish companies and Highway H2O users are metals, scrap, coal, and grain. A number of the ships entering the Seaway system are owned and/or operated by Turkish companies. The Turkish shipbuilding industry is quite healthy and has grown significantly over the last five years, offering the capability to build Seaway-size vessels. The last trade mission to Turkey took place in 2000.
Highlights of the Turkey portion of the mission included a meeting with the Turkish Chamber of Shipping. Delegates provided the chamber and its members with an update on the Great Lakes- Seaway system. Insights were presented on the new Seaway toll incentive program, system availability, and how the binational corporations are working with shipowners/customers to provide ease of entry into the Seaway system. During the meeting, the effect of the global financial crisis on the Turkish shipping industry and on Seaway tonnage and cargo flows was also discussed.
In meetings with the Turkish Shipbuilding Association, delegates learned that private sector shipbuilding activities in that country began in the mid-1960s with the construction of barges, small boats and sledges. Realizing the opportunities, Turkish cabinet issued a decree in 1969 in which Tuzla Aydinli Bay was announced as a ‘Shipyards Zone,’ which led to Tuzla becoming the heart of the Turkish shipbuilding industry. By 2008, Turkey’s order book held 3.4 million deadweight tons, ranking ninth in the world. In terms of quantity, with an order book of 249 ships, Turkey ranks fourth.
Meetings were also held with commodity importers and exporters to present them with the benefits of moving steel, agricultural products and various other cargoes on the Seaway.
“The trade mission was well organized and valuable to all those who attended,” said Adolph Ojard, CEO of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. “The Port of Duluth came away with several import contacts and follow-ups for next season.”
Jonathan Daniels, executive director of the Port of Oswego Authority, said, “The trade mission to Italy and Turkey provided a unique opportunity to market not only the capacity of the individual ports but the ability of the system to meet the needs of carriers and shippers moving cargo into and out of the Great Lakes basin. We were able to build on our existing customer base while continuing efforts to stimulate additional trade opportunities.”