Officials at the Port of Thunder Bay welcomed the first incoming vessels of the year yesterday, marking the beginning of the 2022 navigation season.
Two domestic laker vessels arrived at the northern Ontario port in the early morning hours of March 30, port officials confirmed in an email.
The MV Michipicoten arrived at the port shortly after 4:30 a.m., followed closely by the MV Captain Henry Jackman.
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Both vessels will carry outbound grain.
The Michipicoten, owned and operated by Lower Lakes Towing, was to be loaded with 9,000 tonnes of oats at Superior Elevator and was scheduled to depart Thunder Bay today for Toledo, Ohio.
The Michipicoten is named after the river that empties into Lake Superior near Wawa, Ont.
The ship and its crew, led by captain Adam Barnes and chief engineer Ralph Reeves, received the port’s Top Hat award, presented annually to the first incoming vessel of the new navigation season.
A ceremony marking the vessel’s arrival was cancelled due to poor weather and other factors, the port authority said.
“In an inland port city, the first ship into port brings with it a feeling of spring and revitalization after a cold winter,” said Tim Heney, the port’s chief executive officer.
“Congratulations to the crew of the Michipicoten and the Lower Lakes Towing team for marking the opening of navigation in our port and earning the ceremonial Top Hat,” added Jerrett Franklin, general manager of Superior Elevator ULC.
The Port of Thunder Bay, which has eight grain terminals, typically ships five to 10 million tonnes of grain annually.
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, grain shipments through Thunder Bay routinely exceeded 10 million tonnes but over the past two decades, annual grain shipments have never exceeded the 10 million tonne mark.
Grain volumes in 2020 were in excess of 9.2 million tonnes. Shipments last year were affected by drought-reduced grain yields across Western Canada.
The port’s navigation season typically begins in mid- to late-March and ends in January.
Over the past 70 years, the latest start to the port’s navigation season was April 21, 2014.
Contact brian.cross@producer.com
