The total tonnage numbers for Port Saint John rebounded last year with an increase of 2.5-million in metric tonnes as compared to 2014.
The total metric tonnes of cargo for 2015 was 26,435,882 while in 2014 it was 23,944,378. It’s still lower though than the numbers seen in both 2012 and 2013 which were over 27-million.
The number of vessel calls also rebounded going up by 59 compared to the year before last. Cruise activity also went up last year with 59 ship calls and over 119,000 passengers and this year they’re projecting 63 cruise ship visits with more than 143,000 passengers. We spoke with port President and CEO Jim Quinn.
“It, again, reflects the history of our port in that it’s kind of a cyclical type of business where some years you’re gonna be down for two or three years and then come back up and grow stronger,” says Quinn.
He told the audience at their general meeting they’ve worked hard to put the port on the global shipping map.
“I think sometimes we’re a very polite society in Maritime Canada and in Saint John and sometimes we don’t stand up often enough to take great pride and talk about the things that are going so well and so strong for us,” Quinn tells us.
Because of PotashCorp suspending its mining operations at Picadilly earlier this year the Port will now get its potash from Saskatchewan through Canpotex.
