More than just an alternative port.

As the Port of Prince Rupert gets closer to the opening of the Fairview Container port, word is spreading through the shipping world about the new port on the block.

We found this little blurb on the Cargonews Asia website, a brief thumbnail sketch of what the Port at Fairview will offer in October and what the plans are for the future.

Rupertites will want to investigate a little further one claim in the story, that the Port of Prince Rupert is set to amalgamate withe Port of Vancouver and Fraser River, a development which may cause a bit of unease locally.

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What that might mean and how it would impact plans for Fairview hasn't been explained as of yet and it certainly isn't being mentioned on the North Coast of late, so time will tell if that part of the report is valid or has been misconstrued by the reporter.

Prince Rupert - more than an alternative port

By Patrick Burnson San Francisco

Despite lagging volumes in the Westbound trade this summer, Prince Rupert continues to be gaining on other North American load centres in the battle for market share. "She's just a little player," said Andres Gotti, a maritime analyst in Vancouver, "but Prince Rupert has tremendous potential. She's certainly more than just an alternative port."

Once regarded as a "safety valve" for shippers having trouble with congested gateways in the past, Prince Rupert has aggressively gone after tier-one carrier calls and long-term contracts.

Don Krusel, president and chief executive officer of the Prince Rupert Port Authority, said that a series of developments over the past decade has resulted in a new maritime trade corridor linking North America to Asia.

"Late last year, both the federal authorities and the BC provincial authorities each agreed to chip in US$30 million," he said. "Then, Maher Terminals agreed to invest about $60 million."

According to Krusel, this investment includes three super post-Panamax cranes for Phase 1 of the Faiview container terminal. Canadian National Railway (CN), which acquired the network of BC Rail four years ago, is investing more than $130 million in 20,000 feet of trackage, mile-long siding extensions, rolling stock, 50 locomotives and an intermodal facility.

CN will be able to move intermodal trains from Prince Rupert to Toronto in 108 hours, to Chicago in 107 hours and to Memphis, Tennesse in 135 hours.

Then, just a few months ago, another breakthrough occurred. A division of China's largest steamship company, Cosco Container Lines Americas Inc, gave a major boost to Prince Rupert's Fairview Terminal, making it the first box carrier to berth at its port when it opens this autumn. The Shanghai-based operation is the world's sixth-largest shipping company, utilising ocean vessels, barges, railway and motor carriers at 13,000 ports in more than 160 different countries.

The first phase of the $20 million expansion project at the Port of Prince Rupert is slated to begin operations late next month. The deal also involves the railway CN, which has exclusive access to the port.

According to CN spokesman Mark Hallman, the railroad hopes to move 500,000 TEUs in its first year, with a goal of reaching two million TEUs by 2011 and four million TEUs by 2015. By way of comparison, the Port of Vancouver handles roughly 1.5 million TEUs a year.

Analysts at the Boston Consulting Group have noted that the Port of Vancouver cannot meet the demand of oncoming capacity in the future. "We predict that by 2010, most West Coast ports are going to feel pressure," said one analyst. "Meanwhile, China is on a pace to build its ports like crazy."

As a consequence, CN is planning to use its rail link between Prince Rupert and the US Midwest to bring Chinese goods through Chicago and Memphis hubs. Backhauls will be used to transport raw cotton, lumber, beef, pork, and specialty grains.

Not that Prince Rupert has ever been a laggard where bulk commodities are concerned. Prince Rupert Grain Ltd shipped 4.1 million tonnes in crop last year, its best performance since 1998. And now that CN is reducing the rate for its premium service, shippers are even more likely to give the port their business.

James Foote, executive vice-president of sales and marketing for CN, said the move to "rating parity" and the erasure of a charge for the additional 191 miles for the Prince Rupert haul from Red Pass Junction, where the north line branches from the mainline to Vancouver, applies only to Canadian Wheat Board grains, "and does not discriminate against the Port of Vancouver."

Meanwhile, the railway is buying 50 4,300-horsepower locomotives from Electro-Motive Diesel Inc, choosing SD70M-2 units from the second-placed locomotive builder in North America, rather than 4,400-horse-power Evolution-series locomotives from industry leader, General Electric.

The federal government has decided to amalgamate the three Candian ports of Vancouver, Fraser River and Prince Rupert.

The three ports will come under one port authority within six months. The integration is supposed to lead to imporoved efficiency and to better co-ordination of regional strategy, particularly with regard to attracting more transpacific container traffic.