Post by ferryfast admin on Jan 21, 2006 4:23:01 GMT -5
Ferry proposals hinge on funding
FERRY: Port Stanley Burwell’s closest competitor
Jeff Helsdon - Staff Writer
Friday January 20, 2006
The Tillsonburg News — One ferry, two ferry, three or four?
Just how many, if any ferries at all, will be traversing Lake Erie in the future is the question of the year. Port Burwell was the latest addition to the list of possible sites with a proposal from Seaport Management for both a passenger and freight ferry.
The term for moving freight short distances across water is short sea shipping. Officially Canada has a policy to promote short sea shipping, as does the United States. While the American destinations are receiving funding, such is not the case in Canada.
Marc Fortin, director seaway and domestic shipping policy with Transport Canada, said funding is available to look at business cases, completing studies and promoting short sea shipping opportunities. There is not, however, any money for infrastructure development such as harbour upgrades. He said Canada has commercialized the operation of its ports and does not subsidize any associated costs.
Most of the current proposals depend on still-to-be-sourced government funding.
Whether or not Port Burwell’s proposal advances is dependent on if the federal government gets involved, according to Bayham Mayor Lynn Acre. The Port Burwell proposal calls for a crossing to Fairport Harbour, Ohio, which is just east of Cleveland.
It will involve two types of boats, a fast ferry for passengers, cars and small vans and a slower vehicle to carry transport trucks. Danish company Mols Linien, which operates ferries in Europe, is a partner in the venture.
Acre said a cross-Erie ferry will cut several hours off a trip south. She sees the establishment of a ferry port in Port Burwell as a boon not only to the village and rest of Bayham, but also area towns such as Tillsonburg.
Port Burwell is facing some competition in its quest to be the next Canadian ferry port, though.
While Acre said federal support was vital, she also said speed of the development will be critical in deciding which proposal succeeds.
“The first one with the ship in the water is going to be the one that will win,” she said. “Mols-Linien has a boat already built and ready to sail.”
The municipality has sent out letters to the federal and provincial governments about the proposal. The next step is to set up meetings to explain the proposal further and start the process to find funding.
To the west of Port Burwell, and its closest competitor, is the Port Stanley ferry proposal. It calls for a high-speed ferry to transport both transport trucks and passengers between Port Stanley and Cleveland. Dutch ferry operator Royal Wagenborg Group is partnering on the initiative. The boat would hold 75 transport trucks, 300 cars, or any combination thereof.
Although only a few residents have been opposed to the proposal, Central Elgin Mayor David Rock said they were a vocal minority.
He said a bigger issue is the ownership of the harbour. Negotiations have been ongoing with Transport Canada for some time and a deal is getting close. Rock hopes to see Central Elgin run the harbour as a corporation.
“We’re a population of a little more than 12,000 and we can’t afford to be in the harbour business and put it on the backs of the taxpayers,” he said. “We need a business plan to operate so it won’t cost the taxpayers.”
The goal is to see the Port Stanley proposal to be operational in 2007.
Asked about the Port Burwell proposal, Rock wished the municipality the best as neighbours. When he was interviewed, he said he hadn’t given a lot of thought to the other proposals.
“I would suspect if they were ever able to get a deal, they would be a few years out (behind),” he said.
The proposal that looks closest to getting off the ground is the Nanticoke freight ferry. This proposal calls for a fast ferry that will hold 120 to 160 transport truck trailers – but no tractors (cabs) – to be transported between Nanticoke and Erie, Pennsylvania. The boat would be a high-speed all-weather boat with ice-breaking capabilities. Likely, a used boat would be purchased from Scandinavia.
The already-existing dock at Stelco would be utilized for the proposal. A secured marshalling yard where the trucks could be cleared by customs still needs to be built.
Steve Miazga, general manager of planning and economic development for Haldimand, said the proposal addresses border problems and the issue of drivers being limited in the amount of time they can drive.
“It’s a more efficient way of moving goods,” he said.
It’s estimated when the ferry is operating it will divert three to four percent of the traffic from Niagara border crossings, or as many as 200,000 trucks per year.
Miazga said the hope is to see the ferry operating by this fall. The big obstacle is the removal of a maritime tax presently in place in the United States.
Haldimand is partnering with Stelco, the Hamilton Port Authority, Seaway Marine Inc. of St. Catharines and the Western Erie Port Authority on the venture.
A few miles west in Port Dover, Norfolk and Erie are working on a high-speed passenger vehicle ferry proposal. The boat would hold 250 people and 50 cars.
Norfolk’s general manager of community services Bill Hett didn’t have a timeline as to when the service might be operational. Norfolk is currently waiting for funding from the U.S. Congress and the last business case from Erie before making any final decisions.
Norfolk Mayor Rita Kalmbach recently told the Simcoe Reformer the ferry service is unlikely to go ahead. She pegged upgrade costs for the Port Dover Harbour at $10 to $15 million. The county has not been able to secure any provincial or federal funding to aid with ferry development.
More immediate is a proposal driven by the Erie convention centre for a passenger-only 54-foot boat that would hold 50 people.
“The intent was if they were running a major convention, people could come for shopping and lunch across the lake,” Hett said, adding that service would run only during conventions and good weather. It could be operational this year.
Asked if there was room for another ferry service in Port Burwell or Port Stanley, Hett said, “I don’t believe there would be room for all of them to operate efficiently.”
While interest is high in establishing a cross-Erie ferry service, the City of Rochester recently announced it was pulling the plug on the Rochester to Toronto run due to huge losses.
back
FERRY: Port Stanley Burwell’s closest competitor
Jeff Helsdon - Staff Writer
Friday January 20, 2006
The Tillsonburg News — One ferry, two ferry, three or four?
Just how many, if any ferries at all, will be traversing Lake Erie in the future is the question of the year. Port Burwell was the latest addition to the list of possible sites with a proposal from Seaport Management for both a passenger and freight ferry.
The term for moving freight short distances across water is short sea shipping. Officially Canada has a policy to promote short sea shipping, as does the United States. While the American destinations are receiving funding, such is not the case in Canada.
Marc Fortin, director seaway and domestic shipping policy with Transport Canada, said funding is available to look at business cases, completing studies and promoting short sea shipping opportunities. There is not, however, any money for infrastructure development such as harbour upgrades. He said Canada has commercialized the operation of its ports and does not subsidize any associated costs.
Most of the current proposals depend on still-to-be-sourced government funding.
Whether or not Port Burwell’s proposal advances is dependent on if the federal government gets involved, according to Bayham Mayor Lynn Acre. The Port Burwell proposal calls for a crossing to Fairport Harbour, Ohio, which is just east of Cleveland.
It will involve two types of boats, a fast ferry for passengers, cars and small vans and a slower vehicle to carry transport trucks. Danish company Mols Linien, which operates ferries in Europe, is a partner in the venture.
Acre said a cross-Erie ferry will cut several hours off a trip south. She sees the establishment of a ferry port in Port Burwell as a boon not only to the village and rest of Bayham, but also area towns such as Tillsonburg.
Port Burwell is facing some competition in its quest to be the next Canadian ferry port, though.
While Acre said federal support was vital, she also said speed of the development will be critical in deciding which proposal succeeds.
“The first one with the ship in the water is going to be the one that will win,” she said. “Mols-Linien has a boat already built and ready to sail.”
The municipality has sent out letters to the federal and provincial governments about the proposal. The next step is to set up meetings to explain the proposal further and start the process to find funding.
To the west of Port Burwell, and its closest competitor, is the Port Stanley ferry proposal. It calls for a high-speed ferry to transport both transport trucks and passengers between Port Stanley and Cleveland. Dutch ferry operator Royal Wagenborg Group is partnering on the initiative. The boat would hold 75 transport trucks, 300 cars, or any combination thereof.
Although only a few residents have been opposed to the proposal, Central Elgin Mayor David Rock said they were a vocal minority.
He said a bigger issue is the ownership of the harbour. Negotiations have been ongoing with Transport Canada for some time and a deal is getting close. Rock hopes to see Central Elgin run the harbour as a corporation.
“We’re a population of a little more than 12,000 and we can’t afford to be in the harbour business and put it on the backs of the taxpayers,” he said. “We need a business plan to operate so it won’t cost the taxpayers.”
The goal is to see the Port Stanley proposal to be operational in 2007.
Asked about the Port Burwell proposal, Rock wished the municipality the best as neighbours. When he was interviewed, he said he hadn’t given a lot of thought to the other proposals.
“I would suspect if they were ever able to get a deal, they would be a few years out (behind),” he said.
The proposal that looks closest to getting off the ground is the Nanticoke freight ferry. This proposal calls for a fast ferry that will hold 120 to 160 transport truck trailers – but no tractors (cabs) – to be transported between Nanticoke and Erie, Pennsylvania. The boat would be a high-speed all-weather boat with ice-breaking capabilities. Likely, a used boat would be purchased from Scandinavia.
The already-existing dock at Stelco would be utilized for the proposal. A secured marshalling yard where the trucks could be cleared by customs still needs to be built.
Steve Miazga, general manager of planning and economic development for Haldimand, said the proposal addresses border problems and the issue of drivers being limited in the amount of time they can drive.
“It’s a more efficient way of moving goods,” he said.
It’s estimated when the ferry is operating it will divert three to four percent of the traffic from Niagara border crossings, or as many as 200,000 trucks per year.
Miazga said the hope is to see the ferry operating by this fall. The big obstacle is the removal of a maritime tax presently in place in the United States.
Haldimand is partnering with Stelco, the Hamilton Port Authority, Seaway Marine Inc. of St. Catharines and the Western Erie Port Authority on the venture.
A few miles west in Port Dover, Norfolk and Erie are working on a high-speed passenger vehicle ferry proposal. The boat would hold 250 people and 50 cars.
Norfolk’s general manager of community services Bill Hett didn’t have a timeline as to when the service might be operational. Norfolk is currently waiting for funding from the U.S. Congress and the last business case from Erie before making any final decisions.
Norfolk Mayor Rita Kalmbach recently told the Simcoe Reformer the ferry service is unlikely to go ahead. She pegged upgrade costs for the Port Dover Harbour at $10 to $15 million. The county has not been able to secure any provincial or federal funding to aid with ferry development.
More immediate is a proposal driven by the Erie convention centre for a passenger-only 54-foot boat that would hold 50 people.
“The intent was if they were running a major convention, people could come for shopping and lunch across the lake,” Hett said, adding that service would run only during conventions and good weather. It could be operational this year.
Asked if there was room for another ferry service in Port Burwell or Port Stanley, Hett said, “I don’t believe there would be room for all of them to operate efficiently.”
While interest is high in establishing a cross-Erie ferry service, the City of Rochester recently announced it was pulling the plug on the Rochester to Toronto run due to huge losses.
back