Monday January 2 2012
Making its first visit to Trois-Rivières, the vessel M/V Jutta, property of Mst Mineralien Schiffahrt GmbH and flying the Liberia flag, is the first foreign ship to reach the Port of Trois-Rivières this year, on January 1st, without a stopover, becoming the first international ship of 2012. Built in China in 2001 this bulk carriers, 180 meters long and 23 meters wide, has a load capacity of 25,639 metric tons.
Setting out from Murucupi (Brazil), the M/V Jutta and its Russian, Czech, Ukrainian and Solvak crew delivered a 10,013 metric-ton cargo of industrial-use kaolin for Imerys in Georgia (U.S.A). The vessel was moored to Section No. 20 of the Port of Trois-Rivières for approximately one day. During its stay in Trois-Rivières, it is represented by Lower St-Lawrence Ocean Agencies Ltd., and its cargo was unloaded by Somavrac.
The ceremony highlighting the arrival of "first ship of the year" was held today. To mark the occasion, the TRPA presented a reproduction of a work by local artist, Mr. Pierre Labrecque to the captain, Mr. Vik Miroslav.
Although the ceremony for the first ship of the year was held for the first time in 1966, winter navigation to Trois-Rivières began in 1961 with the arrival of the Maplebranch on February 18. It was the first vessel to travel upstream from Québec city in the winter. This newsworthy event made the front page of Le Nouvelliste, which called it an "amazing feat," adding that the “Maplebranch is writing a page in the history of winter navigation.” It should be recalled that few people actually believed that ships could navigate the St. Lawrence in the winter. It was considered to be impossible or too expensive. However, the introduction of icebreakers and vessels adapted to this type of navigation, as well as the involvement of pilots and new technologies have made it a reality. “Nowadays, a significant amount of traffic occurs in the winter. In Trois-Rivières, traffic remains constant year round. This does not mean that winter navigation should be trivialized. We must keep in mind the many actors in the river system whose efforts make winter navigation possible. Every year they repeat the Maplebranch's feat and I want to acknowledge the excellence of their work,” said Gaétan Boivin, President and CEO of the Port of Trois-Rivières. It should also be noted that the Coast Guard has set up a base in Trois-Rivières for the icebreakers that keep the channel open between Québec city and Montréal during the winter.
One of 17 Canadian Port Authorities and active for 130 years, the Port of Trois-Rivières offers a wide range of facilities and services to the maritime industry year-round and aims to be an important actor in regional, national and international economic development. For more information visit www.porttr.com
- 30 -
For information:
Mr. Jacques Paquin
Vice President Marketing and Business Development
(819) 378-2887, ext 28
