Last year saw a total of 26.7 million cargo volumes moving through the Port of Prince Rupert, representing a new record for the Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) and an increase of 10 per cent from 2017.
PRPA presented their financial statements and annual report on Monday, June 17, at their Annual Public Meeting hosted at The Crest.
Despite an increase in cargo, revenues for PRPA have gone down by $2.5 million, representing a four per cent decline from 2017, which saw a total of $62 million in revenue. Net income for 2018 totalled $25.2 million.
READ MORE: Port of Prince Rupert president on growing trade in 2019
All shipments, with the exception of bulk grain, experienced a growth of nine to 21 per cent. The biggest decline in shipments was barley, which went down by 67 per cent. Canola shipments experienced a decline of 32 per cent and petroleum coke declined by 12 per cent. Metallurgical coal saw the biggest increase in shipment at 40 per cent.
Projects
Prince Rupert saw its one millionth container unit go through the port in 2018 as the Fairview Container Terminal successfully hit its milestone. In 2017 DP world completed its expansion project which allowed the annual capacity for containerized cargo to hold more than 1.35 million TEUs. DP also announced in 2018 that they plan to continue expanding the terminal to keep up with demand, hoping to reach a 1.8 million TEU capacity by 2022.
The $500 million Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal, designed to ship 1.2 million tonnes of propane annually, continued their construction which allowed the port to make history in 2019 when it saw the first propane shipment from Canada’s west coast.
It was also announced that the Vopak Development Canada Inc. plans to build a gas storage facility on Ridley Island for the purpose of shipping propane, diesel and methanol to customers in Asia is currently in the environmental assessment phase.
Only 23 vessels were called to port in 2018, two cruise ships less than anticipated, bringing 9,000 visitors to Prince Rupert, a decline from 2017 which saw 25 ships and approximately 12,600 passengers.
Jenna Cocullo | Journalist
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