By CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS
July 20, 2009
The Saint John Port Authority launched into another successful Port Days conference by officially christening its new $12-million Marco Polo Cruise Terminal.
The name, which comes from the famous tall ship built in Saint John that was the fastest ship in the world in 1852, was selected through an essay contest open to all local high school students.
Laura Daigle’s essay convinced the port authority the moniker was the right choice, particularly as the port will unveil later this year a one-third scale replica of the clipper ship.
Al Soppitt, president and CEO of the Saint John Port Authority, and Stephen Campbell, chairman of the authority’s board, attended the grand opening, which was commemorated with a dramatic pipe and drum performance along the escalators of the 16,000-square-foot terminal. As well as serving as the new head office for the port authority, the terminal features an elevated 90-metre pedway that rises with all stages of the tide on a motorized gangway.
Alan Buckelew, president and CEO of Princess Cruises, was the guest of honour at the grand opening and also the keynote speaker at the Port Days business luncheon. “Saint John is an integral part of the Atlantic Canada cruise itinerary,” Mr. Buckelew said. “It’s a beautiful port with great opportunities, not only to see the Bay of Fundy, but there are a lot of other local attractions. People all over the United States have begun to see it as a vacation alternative.”
Mr. Buckelew’s point of view was reinforced prior to the grand opening with a guided helicopter tour. Betty MacMillan, the port authority’s manager of business development, took Mr. Buckelew to see the ocean floor at Hopewell Rocks as well as to Fundy National Park and quaint St. Martins, N.B.
The next day, 3,200 passengers disembarked from the Carnival
Triumph, the first cruise ship of the season. A record 190,400 cruise passengers are expected during this year’s 74 cruise ship visits.
Saint John Port Days included the annual golf tournament at the Westfield Golf and Country Club and a St. John River Cruise on the MV Voyageur II. “This year’s Port Days event has attracted the biggest attendance since 2002,” noted Andrew Dixon, the port authority’s vice-president of marketing and business development, who hosted an informative business session during Day 2.
Opportunities abound, diversity is a specialty
The theme for this year’s three-day event was Port Progress, a World of Diverse Opportunities.
The business session featured representation from various market sectors including local logistics veteran Rod Malcolm, project manager at Irving Equipment. He said he was in the middle of managing a 21-week transshipment project that includes massive monobuoys, suction anchors and giant chains at Lower Cove terminal, which is operated by Empire Stevedoring. The specialized cargo is destined for Neptune, an offshore LNG terminal project off Gloucester, Mass., just outside Boston.
“Saint John is a good place to do this type of project,” he told local and visiting attendees at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre. Mr. Malcolm said some companies are reluctant to take on the transshipment activities such as ballast planning and lining up teams of engineers. This expertise and plenty of port lay-down space are reasons his company landed this repeat business. “We are geopolitically positioned to market to the United States as we get around ship flagging and manning regulations, which is a big plus,” he said. “We have existing infrastructure, a remarkable workforce and low-cost hospitality. It is very heartening to see clients return. They say, ‘When I come to Saint John I feel like it’s a vacation.’”
Mr. Malcolm said Saint John also has major potential for modular construction and must act soon in selecting a viable site “while tenders for projects are out there.”
Frank Vannelli, senior vice-president of sales and marketing for Logistec Stevedoring, recapped his company’s 37-year history with the port. He concurred with Mr. Malcolm that Saint John’s strengths are flexibility, quality facilities, abundant storage space and a competitive spirit. “We fight for every morsel we can get,” he said. “The days of a million tonnes of forest products are over and we have to crawl back up. Wood pellets are on the horizon so we are chasing that.” But Mr. Vannelli said multitasking the handling of containers, automobiles and metals and assisting dockside manufacturers such as Floating Pipe Company was key to recent growth at Logistec.
More buzz about new Irving headquarters
and Canaport LNG
Blaine Higgs, director of logistics for Irving Oil, was another hometown presenter who created more buzz about the new Irving Oil headquarters planned for Long Wharf in Saint John Harbour. The federal government recently approved a 99-year lease for Irving Oil to build its $30-million world head office at Long Wharf. The new headquarters will act as a secondary cruise berth and, in addition to the new port authority cruise terminal at 111 Water St., concentrate approximately 1,000 workers on the waterfront.
“This is vital infrastructure for growing the New Brunswick energy hub,” Mr. Higgs said. “We have a strong relationship with the port community and we were encouraged to look at the uptown for this site.”
He also provided an overview of the new Canaport LNG terminal, which was about to receive its first MOSS tanker. Irving and Repsol are partners in Canada’s first natural gas receiving and re-gasification terminal that will export energy to New England markets via a 145-kilometre pipeline to Maine.
Michael Crye, executive vice-president of the non-profit Cruise Lines International Association, gave a high-level report on cruise sector growth as passengers disembarked from the Carnival Victory outside. The cruise guru said that despite recent Somali pirate attacks and the H1N1 virus affecting travel to Mexico, there are still 13 million passengers on CLIA member cruise lines.
“There are great deals this year and value propositions are important to attract repeat passengers,” Mr. Crye emphasized. “Saint John is an attractive destination as there is no airfare involved to sail from New York, Boston or Baltimore. This region is on the cusp of where Alaska was 20 years ago. You have much beauty and natural wonder and culture for the cruise customer.”
Mr. Crye estimated each cruise ship call means US$250,000 for Saint John.
Cruise lines not immune to economic challenges
Cruise opportunities continued as the topic du jour as Alan Buckelew returned to the spotlight as the keynote luncheon speaker. “The cruise industry is not immune to the economic challenges,” he cautioned. “Lower prices and value is the key message right now. Repeat passengers are our future and word-of-mouth is our most important marketing tool.”
That doesn’t mean Princess isn’t adding services and amenities to its products, however. “We’re remodelling our ships and adding adult-only sanctuaries,” he noted as eyebrows rose. “We are differentiating ourselves for when the economy improves, but even in difficult times our industry continues to grow,” he added, pointing to a growth chart indicating a 74-per-cent increase since 1980, a period that included two recessions. “Saint John just has to keep doing what you’ve been doing. You are a great example of a cruise success story,” Mr. Buckelew said, acknowledging the individual efforts of Ms. MacMillan seated in the large crowd.
The port authority returned the kudos by bestowing the Port Award of the Year on Princess Cruises and Mr. Buckelew. “Calling consistently for more than 15 years, Princess Cruises has been our longest standing customer,” Ms. MacMillan said. Port authority chairman Stephen Campbell said he admired the hands-on approach of Mr. Buckelew, who once took a tour of Saint John incognito to find out what was happening in the city.
Following the business session, Port Days concluded with its famous Seafood Fiesta where delegates celebrated cruise success stories and emerging opportunities in one of the few medium-sized Canadian cities buffered from the global recession by an active transportation and energy sector.