Clear channel for a new season: grain export port aims to generate more two-way traffic.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: Thunder Bay

Compared to the deep freeze and ice-choked waterways of the last two winters, it was practically summer sailing for the opening of the Port of Thunder Bay in late March.

The MV Tecumseh arrived in the western Lake Superior port, March 28, to load 20,000 tonnes of wheat and canola for Sorel, Que.

The following day, the season's first saltwater vessel, the MV Federal Barents, pulled into port to load 21,000 tonnes of lentils bound for Turkey.

It was a day shy of tying the port record for the earliest arrival of an ocean-going vessel.

"We're getting shipments in March," said port authority CEO Tim Heney, "which is the first time in two years."

With 83 per cent of the port's tonnage being grain, the last two years have certainly been memorable ones for Thunder Bay.

The volume of grain that came through in 2015--at 8 million tonnes--was its second best in 17 years, topped only by an historic grain haul from the previous year.

The combined totals of grain, coal, potash, dry bulk and other cargoes was close to 9 million tonnes for the year, "good, solid" numbers that Heney hopes that can be replicated this year.

"I have a hard time influencing grain. What we do control is the project cargoes at Keefer Terminal."

Thunder Bay has historically been an export port for grain headed overseas.

But a few years ago, the port authority looked to drum up business by generating two-way traffic through project cargoes to service the Western Canada oil patch. After handling 15 project cargoes last year, Heney has 25 on the schedule this year.

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The port has enjoyed considerable success handling large modules and pressure vessels, along with a steady diet of wind turbine components.

The port has also landed some specialty cargoes, including equipment for the New Gold Mine near Fort Frances, and handled four shiploads of Norwegian wood pellets for the power plant in Thunder Bay.

Last year, for the first time in decades, Keefer stevedores were handling imported steel products.

"This is an interesting commodity because it goes into everything you build," said Heney.

The first of four shipments of structural steel from Luxembourg --steel products no longer made in Canada--was scheduled to arrive in April, destined for the Alberta oilsands.

Activity in the oil patch may have slowed to a crawl, but the construction of new production facilities continues, said Heney.

Through careful coordination with shippers, CP Rail and FedNav, they're utilizing...