Farmers of North America (FNA), a cooperative based in Saskatoon, Sask., brought the first-ever ocean shipment from Russia into the Port of Churchill in Manitoba. The Murmansk Shipping Co. vessel Kapitan Sviridov docked at the port on Wednesday, Oct. 17, carrying fertilizer identified as 10,000 mt of a bagged nitrogen-blend from Russia via Estonia. Officials and dignitaries were on hand to greet the vessel.
“This is a historic event,” said Lloyd Axworthy, chair of the Churchill Gateway Development Corp. “This vessel represents the first shipment under the Arctic Bridge concept linking Russian and Canadian Prairie markets. It is an important step forward.” Churchill claims the shortest sea route between Canada and northern Europe.
Mike Ogborn, managing director of OmniTRAX Canada Inc., which owns the Hudson Bay Port Co. and Hudson Bay Rail Line, called 2007 a “banner year” for Churchill. “We’ve seen record wheat shipments, record northern re-supply shipments, the first domestic-bound grain shipment and now this – the first foreign cargo shipment imported through Churchill in years,” he said. “This season has been an excellent demonstration of the possibilities for this northern port.”
After unloading the fertilizer, the Kapitan Sviridov will load 20,000 mt of wheat destined for Italy, part of the Canadian Wheat Board’s largest wheat shipping program through Churchill since 1977. Exports from the port this year are expected to total 600,000 mt. However, port owner OmniTrax has been quoted by the Canadian press as saying 1 million mt/y of throughput is necessary in order to make the port viable.
An FNA spokesman told Green Markets not to be surprised if another fertilizer import arrives at the port in the near term. The company hopes to begin importing urea and phosphates in particular. He said FNA had brought in fertilizer via NOLA before, but never through a Canadian port. FNA serves some 8,000 farmers in Canada and the northern U.S.
“We do not expect to shake the domestic fertilizer industry to its knees,” said FNA Vice President Glenn Caleval, “but with the support of committed members we are proving through action that alternatives exist and that we will go anywhere in the world necessary to give farmers access to those alternatives.”
The shipping season at the Port of Churchill, which is located in northern Manitoba on the Hudson Bay, is from July through November, though there is the potential to expand the season by using ice breakers. It is the only deep-water ocean port in the Prairie region. It has four berths for the loading and unloading of grain, general cargo, and tanker vessels.
Canada is on the fast track to develop the port and its rail link. Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Oct. 5 announced some C$68 million in public and private funding to upgrade the port and the rail line leading to it. The federal government and the province of Manitoba will commit to cost sharing $40 million for the upgrade to the rail line between The Pas and Churchill. Additionally, the federal government and the province have agreed to cost share up to $8 million for improvements at the Port of Churchill.
“A strong and sovereign Arctic must be a healthy and prosperous Arctic. In the weeks and months that lie ahead, our government will continue to introduce measures aimed at unleashing the North’s true potential,” said Harper.
The Hudson Bay Rail Co. has also committed to spend $20 million for rail line maintenance. The company is owned by OmniTrax Canada, which also owns and operates the port. OmniTrax Canada is owned by OmniTrax, based in Denver.