Halifax Port Authority
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The Port of Halifax comprises various port facilities in
Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural har ...
in
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. It covers of land, and looks after of water. Strategically located as
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
's first inbound and last outbound gateway, the port of Halifax is a naturally deep, wide, ice-free harbour with minimal tides and is two days closer to
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and one day closer to
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
(via the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
) than any other North American East Coast port. In addition, it is one of just a few eastern seaboard ports able to accommodate and service fully laden post-
Panamax Panamax and New Panamax (or Neopanamax) are terms for the size limits for ships traveling through the Panama Canal. The limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in a publication titled "Vessel Requirements". ...
container ships A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...
using the latest technology. With 17 of the world's top shipping lines calling the port, including
transshipment Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g. ...
,
feeder ship Feeder vessels or feeder ships are medium-size freight Ship, ships. In general, a feeder means a seagoing vessel with an average capacity of . Feeders collect Intermodal container, shipping containers from different ports and transport them to cen ...
services and direct access to
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...
(CN) inland network, the port of Halifax is connected virtually to every market in North America and over 150 countries worldwide supporting the delivery of all types of cargoes. Annually the port handles over 1,500 vessels, generates 15,000 jobs and $2 billion in economic impact. Halifax is one of Canada's top four container ports in terms of the volume of cargo handled.


History

After the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
withdrew from Halifax in 1905, the dockyards were handed over to the Government of Canada. Prior to
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the government began the Ocean Terminals project. A new railway was built through the city's South End to service the modern piers, the first of which opened in the early 1920s. Shipping grew sharply during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. With the containerisation revolution of shipping, it was decided to build a container terminal in Halifax. The South End Container Terminal opened in the South End in 1969 at the site of the former Seaward Defence Base. A specialised vehicular processing facility, the Autoport, was opened in 1971. It provides various pre-distribution services in addition to basic loading and off-loading. The number of vehicles handled annually by the Autoport has grown from 100,000 in 1979 to about 250,000 today. By the late 1970s the South End Container Terminal was operating at capacity, handling more tonnage than any other container terminal in Canada. A second container terminal at Fairview Cove was therefore built at a cost of $47 million and opened in 1982. It was originally a single-berth facility, and operations were contracted out to Cerescorp Inc. The terminal has since been expanded. In 2003, Ceres (now a subsidiary of
Nippon Yusen The , also known as NYK Line, is a Japanese shipping company. The company headquarters are located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It operates a fleet of over 820 ships, which includes container ships, Tanker (ship), tankers, bulk and woodchip carrie ...
) successfully bid on a continued operations contract, effective January 1, 2003 for 20 years. In 2005 the Fairview Cove Container Terminal berth depth was deepened to (as deep as the New Panama Canal). In 2012 a major expansion of the South End Container Terminal was completed. The depth of the berth was increased from and the pier was extended. In June 2017 it welcomed its first Neopanamax vessel, the ''ZIM Antwerp''. On August 1, 2019,
PSA International PSA International Pte. Ltd., formerly the Port of Singapore Authority, is a global port operator and supply chain company. One of the largest port operators in the world, PSA's portfolio comprises over 70 deepsea, rail, and inland terminals. The ...
completed its acquisition the former Halterm south end container terminal from
Macquarie Group Macquarie Group Limited (), more commonly known as Macquarie Bank, is an Australian multinational investment banking and financial services group headquartered in Sydney and listed on the ASX (). Macquarie's investment banking division is Au ...
In 2021, 16,020- TEU CMA CGM Explorer-class container ships made their inaugural visits to the PSA south-end terminal.


Administration

Many major port facilities are owned by the Halifax Port Authority (HPA), a
port authority A port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other transportation infrastructure. ...
operating as a federally regulated
Crown corporation Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...
of the
Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...
. HPA has responsibility of managing 260 acres federally owned marine industrial land in
Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural har ...
. The HPA was created on March 1, 1999 and succeeds the Halifax Port Corporation (HPC). HPC was the successor to the
National Harbours Board The National Harbours Board was an agency of the Government of Canada, reporting to Parliament through the Minister of Transport (Canada), Minister of Transport. It was in operation from 1936 to 1983. History The idea of a system of national ports ...
, which operated all federally owned ports in Canada. Halifax was one of the first of eighteen national ports in Canada which implemented this administrative change as required by the Canada Marine Act which passed on June 11, 1998.


Facilities

Halifax Port Authority facilities include: * South End Container Terminal – Piers 36–42 (operated by PSA Halifax) * Ocean Terminals – Piers 23–34 *
Halifax Seaport The Halifax Seaport is a Canadian commercial development located on the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia waterfront, at the southern end of the Halifax Boardwalk. It is a re-use of former shipping warehouses. The intent of the multi-year ...
(formerly the Seawall) – Piers 20–22,
Cruise Ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...
Pavilion and Pier 21 museum, NSCAD University, HPA administrative building * Halifax Grain Elevator (leased and operated by Halifax Grain Elevator Limited) * Richmond Terminals – Piers 9 and 9A * Richmond Offshore Terminals – Piers 9B–9D (multi-user supply base for offshore oil and gas exploration/production) * Fairview Cove Container Terminal – (currently operated by Cerescorp) * Sheet Harbour Industrial Port Major port facilities not owned or administered by HPA: * National Gypsum Wharf – (owned and operated by National Gypsum Company to serve Wrights Cove gypsum terminal) * Woodside Atlantic Wharf – (vessel lay-up and repair, servicing oil rigs) * Imperial Oil Wharves – (
Imperial Oil Imperial Oil Limited () is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-largest integrated oil company. It is majority-owned by American oil company ExxonMobil, with a 69.6% ownership stake in the company. It is a producer of crude oil, ...
, serves the Dartmouth Refinery) * Autoport – (owned by
Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...
) All HPA facilities except the Sheet Harbour Port are serviced by
Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...
.


Cruise ships

In addition to being one of the world's largest natural harbours for breakbulk, bulk,
roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...
, containerized and project cargoes, the Halifax seaport has become an increasingly popular
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...
of call for
cruise ships Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on tours known as " ...
from around the world. In 2019, the Port of Halifax had 179 cruise vessel calls with over 323,000 passengers aboard. It is estimated that cruise passengers alone contribute about $172 million to Halifax's economy every year.


See also

*
CFB Halifax Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Halifax is Canada's east coast naval base and home port to the Royal Canadian Navy Atlantic fleet, known as Canadian Fleet Atlantic (CANFLTLANT), that forms part of the formation (military), formation Maritime Forces At ...
* Halifax Shipyard


References


External links

* {{Halifax, Nova Scotia Port authorities in Canada Transport in Halifax, Nova Scotia 1999 establishments in Nova Scotia Ports and harbours of Nova Scotia