b'JULY 25 - AUGUST 21, 2022ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY & GREAT LAKES PORTS 21(ALLIANCEcontinued from page 20)the way to an outright merger, though it could take severalyearstomaterialize,industryobservers consider.The announcement by the ports of Quebec, Trois RivieresandMontrealcanbeseeninthecontext ofrecent TransportCanadaacceptanceofmergers betweenportauthorities,suchasthosearound Vancouver,aswellasanevolvinginternational trend, suggests Canadian transportation consultant Brian Slack.Perhaps the most notable is that of HAROPA, amergerbetweentheFrenchportsofLeHavre, RouenandParis,butotherexamplesinclude Antwerp-ZeebruggeandCopenhagen-Malmo,the latterinvolvingtwoportsindifferentcountries, Slack told AJOT in an interview.Co-operation, rationalisation, scale economies are some of the reasons put forward to justify such mergers, Slack went on. There is no clear evidence thatmergersachievethesegoals.Itappearsthat successdependsinpartonlocalconditionsand circumstances and a clear understanding of what are the specific goals. Mid-way between Montreal and Quebec City, the Port of Trois-Rivires is expanding its multimodal/multipurpose capacity.Proximity appears to be a factor. Like HAROPA, theproposedmergerbetweenQuebec,Troisby ship and the St. Lawrence/Great Lakes axis issynergies that will benefit the customers we serve Rivieres and Montreal involves ports geographicallyCanadas most important trade corridor, remarkedand the communities in which we operate.positioned along a major river. Whether this attributeMarioGirard,PresidentandCEOoftheQuebecClaude Comtois, emeritus professor of geography can be exploited remains to be seen. Port Authority. at the University of Montreal who is a well-known From west to east over 160 miles of waterway,What facilitates collaboration is complementarity,expert on St. Lawrence and world logistics trends, the ports of Montreal, Trois-Rivires and QubecopinedGatanBoivin,PresidentandCEOoffeelsthethree-portagreementcouldleadtosuch have much in common. They are jointly responsibletheTrois-RiviresPortAuthority.Theportsofdevelopments as integrated management of the water for the safe operation of traffic on a key section of aMontral,QubecandTrois-Rivireseachhavecolumn, an update of the pilotage conditions, joint maritime corridor that connects the Atlantic Oceantheir own expertise and specific roles in the supplymarketing efforts, identification of new cargo owners, to the industrial heartland of North America. chain.Increasingourcollaborationwillcreateand greater energy transition of port activities.l akeo ntarIoP ortM ergerElsewhere in Canada, there was the merger in 2019oftheLakeOntarioportsofHamiltonand Oshawa into the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA).AndontheWestCoast,therewasthe amalgamationin2008ofthePortofVancouver, North Fraser Port Authority and Fraser River Port Authority. With then port chief executive Captain Gordon Houston playing a vital role, the creation of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has considerably strengthened Canadas Pacific Gateway strategy.The signing of a collaboration agreement between Montreal,Trois-RiviresandQubecontheSt. LawrenceRiverhasbeenmotivatedbystrategic, environmental, and economic factors, a press release underlined.Thethreeportscombinedannuallyhandle approximately72.4milliontonsofgeneral cargo,containers(almostallatMontreal),non-containerizedgeneralcargo,andsolidandliquid bulk. The St. Lawrence is the entry and exit route for a multitude of goods, food and materials traded with the rest of the world.Globalsupplychainsarebeingrestructured. Shippinglinesandimport-exportstakeholders are looking for the best routes at the best cost and want to accelerate the decarbonization of maritime transport.Thereareopportunitiesforourports andforoureconomy,stressedMartinImbleau, President and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority, when the working group was unveiled.Morethan80%oftradeworldwideisdone HARNESS THE GLOBAL POWER OF A GREAT LAKES PORT.Regional, national and international logisticians count on Port Milwaukee for a turnkey approach to solve their transportation and supply chain needs. Strategically located in the industrial center of the U.S., Port Milwaukee provides premier access to domestic and world markets.The QSL big terminal facilities underline the Port of QuebecsVISIT PORTMILWAUKEE.COM . PORT @ MILWAUKEE.GOVsignificant bulk shipping vocation.'