(Ottawa ) The port authorities of Montreal, Quebec and Trois-Rivières are categorical: the time has come for strategic alliances to strengthen the attractiveness of the St. Lawrence River as the country’s leading commercial corridor.
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
At a time when global supply chains are being restructured due to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the leaders of these three ports are creating a task force to target initiatives on which they could join forces to maximize the economic and environmental benefits of this seaway.
Among other things, the task force will assess whether it is possible to improve the competitiveness of the St. Lawrence corridor by strengthening the connection between the ports and the transport networks by truck and train, by relying on a common marketing or by ensuring greater compatibility of technological systems, for example.
The CEOs of the three ports confirmed this unprecedented initiative in an interview with The Press Monday.
However, these strategic alliances will only be possible if the Federal Ministry of Transport modifies the Canada Marine Act, which oversees the operation of port authorities across the country. The Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, intends to modernize this law which considerably limits such partnerships. The Department is currently consulting on this.
Common interest
According to the CEO of the Montreal Port Authority, Martin Imbleau, it is in the interest of the three ports to enter into such alliances. Because the reorganization of global supply chains means that the three ports are not in competition with each other, but that the St. Lawrence trade corridor offers fierce competition to the ports of the eastern United States.
Global supply chains are being restructured. Shipping lines and import-export players are looking for the best routes, at the best cost, and want to accelerate the decarbonization of maritime transport. There are opportunities for our ports and for our economy.
Martin Imbleau
Together, the three ports annually handle 72.4 million tonnes of general cargo, containers, non-containerized general cargo as well as solid and liquid bulk.
The idea raised in 2016
In 2016, the idea of creating alliances between the three ports had been raised, but had not been followed up. But this question arises today with much more acuteness because of the pandemic.
“We realized in recent years that the trends we see are similar and that the challenges we face are also similar. We also examined what is being done elsewhere in the world and we found that our challenge on the St. Lawrence is to move from a local vision to a vision that is more global,” added the CEO of the ‘Trois-Rivières Port Authority, Gaétan Boivin.
The CEO of the Quebec Port Authority, Mario Girard, gave the example of Haropa Port — a new port complex born from the union of the port of Le Havre, the port of Rouen and the ports of Paris, last year, after a decade of partnerships.
This new entity was formed with the aim of regaining maritime transport market shares lost over the years. The alliances have paid off. Haropa Port not only stopped the bleeding, but also managed to regain market share. The number of containers passing through Haropa Port has increased from 2 million in 2012 to around 3 million today.
“It’s an example of a corridor strategy. They started by promoting the corridor together. They worked on the fluidity of the channel together. There are operations that have remained local,” explained Mr. Girard, adding that there are other examples of this kind around the world.
Gaétan Boivin, however, wants to be clear. It is not a question of merger, but of strategic alliances where each port could develop specific niches. “Today, you have to be generalists. But to be generalists, the facilities are very expensive. […] Presently, the Maritime law allows us to compete or merge. But we don’t want to merge. We want to enter into partnerships for the good of the St. Lawrence,” he explained.