Welcome to Port Saint John’s 2021 Annual Report
Port Saint John’s mission is to be the driver of sustainable economic growth in our region, through innovation and collaboration.
For the past few years, we have been carefully and deliberately following a strategically laid path that had us focused on developing our growth potential. In 2021, however, we felt the pull of opportunity, and our pace accelerated. We achieved substantial completion of the new West-Side Terminal; CP, our newest rail partner, began promoting our port as a cost-effective route on the eastern seaboard; and the global pandemic contributed to major supply chain issues that clogged up ports around the world.
Economic growth requires patience, faith and investment. The path forward can be murky. But when your plan starts to work - the path before you lights up clearly. That’s when you double down, and accelerate into it.
Out path lit up in 2021, as it became clear that Port Saint John is positioned for performance. What does that mean? It means we are ideally located, we have the right partners in place, we have the right investments lined up, and perhaps most importantly - we have headroom for growth.
We’re not saying mission accomplished, because that’s not what sustainable means. We’re in this for the long haul, and we hope you’ll come along for the journey.
We invite you to browse through our 2021 Annual Report and see our growth for yourself.
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Click the links below to fast-track to each section.
POSITIONED FOR PERFORMANCE
The pandemic and its impacts on our daily lives and businesses continued to be the predominant story throughout 2021. Through this, consumers became more aware of the value of an efficient supply chain, as the effects of recovering from the production shutdowns in the first year of the pandemic began to overwhelm major global ports. This reality underscored for us the importance of the West Side Modernization Project, as we continue to grow capacity at uncongested berths and fluid terminals here in Saint John
Within these unique conditions of the pandemic, Port Saint John and its stakeholders continued to operate efficiently and safely throughout the year, showing an overall year-over-year increase in cargo tonnage of 11%. We are the largest port in Atlantic Canada by volume of cargo handled. We also have gained new status as the second fastest growing port on the East Coast of North America.
As was the case in 2020, the only Canadian port sector which remained at a standstill due to the pandemic was cruise. Welcome news came in November when the federal government lifted suspension of cruise in Canadian waters. This means we expect to see cruise ships in our harbour once again beginning in the Spring of 2022. Over the past two years, the efforts of our cruise team turned toward ensuring safe cruise resumption and preparation of our community. We anticipate 70 cruise ships to visit over the course of six months this year.
Construction on the West Side Modernization Project, within DP World’s multi-purpose cargo terminal, continued to progress toward completion over the course of the year. This project and our collaboration with supply chain partners to maximize the use of our infrastructure continues to produce results. An example is the attraction of another new weekly container service line to Saint John in May of 2021. Three of the world’s top container lines now regularly call Saint John - MSC, CMA-CGM, and now Hapag-Lloyd
We recognize that data is an asset that will increase cargo visibility for shippers and receivers. We highly value our journey to increase collaboration in this area. Throughout 2021, we continued working to implement new technologies and solutions to this end. This work remains a high priority, as does our commitment to the environment which we are taking to a new level moving forward. We will focus more on decarbonization of our port.
People are at the heart of our port operations and the community which surrounds us. We understand that the value we provide must be broader than economic. We are continually seeking ways to align our business with port stakeholders, residents, and visitor priorities.
As we look back on the challenges and breakthroughs of 2021, we stand with hope for the future of our modernized port. We are truly positioned for performance.
TOTAL PORT
Overall cargo tonnage at Port Saint John for 2021 was 28.8 million metric tonnes, representing a 11% increase from the previous year. This growth was achieved due to increases in dry bulk, containers, and liquid bulk.
DP World Saint John saw solid container growth at the west side multi-purpose cargo terminal. Container TEUs increased by 10% with container tonnage increasing by 6% by year end.
CONTAINERS
DP World’s fifth year at Port Saint John brought their highest volumes yet, staying true to their vision of long-term growth for container operations at Port Saint John.
Several major developments occurred in 2021 that will continue to positively impact container cargo at Port Saint John. These are:
CP Rail’s marketing of Port Saint John as their East Coast Advantage,
The commencement of Hapag-Llyod's Mediterranean container service with Port Saint John and;
The continuation of the $205 million West Side Modernization Project construction which launched in 2020 and is due to be complete in 2023. This project is a funding partnership with the Government of Canada, Province of New Brunswick, and Port Saint John.
WEST SIDE MODERNIZATION TO BE COMPLETE IN 2023
Under the engineering design leadership of Hatch Dillon JV, the West Side Modernization project continues to make steady strides toward completion. Although COVID-19 increased safety protocols on the site, contractors were able to develop safety plans, approved by Work Safe NB and the project is still slated to be complete by March 2023.
In 2021, the new pier has started to take form. Over 850,000 tonnes of rockfill was placed to help form the pier. As part of the project, workboats and fishing vessels are being moved over to Long Wharf Slip, where work has begun to create a new breakwater which will provide safe harbour to them on an annual basis.
Ensuring the terminal continues to operate fully as a cargo handling facility throughout the period of demolition and new construction at the adjacent pier is a critical factor in the construction plan. Maintaining continuous and efficient operations is a crucial part of the entire project as the infrastructure at Port Saint John provides a link between North American markets and the global marketplace, contributes to local economies across our region, and is part of Canada’s national supply chain.
This Project is a three-way $205 million infrastructure development project between the Government of Canada, the Province of New Brunswick, and Port Saint John. This project was the culmination of work by the Port with its stakeholders to achieve a vision for continued growth.
Throughout our West Side Modernization Project, we have worked in close collaboration with Indigenous communities who have contributed their expertise and traditional knowledge in helping to progress the project and environmental planning related to the project.
DRY BULK
The dry bulk sector at Port Saint John in 2021 included export of potash and recycled metals.
In 2021, the potash exported through Port Saint John more than doubled. Saint John, New Brunswick continues to have a geographic advantage for distribution of Saskatchewan-produced potash to South America and other global markets.
The recycled metals operations at Port Saint John saw an increase of 45% in 2021. A high-level of community interest exists in this operation, and, as a result, the leaseholder continues to work toward understanding and improving environmental impacts and communications.
LIQUID BULK
Crude oil, petroleum, liquefied natural gas, fish oil, molasses, caustic soda, calcium chloride, and magnesium chloride.
BREAKBULK & PROJECT CARGO
The Port offers a complete breakbulk/project cargo program, customizable to meet the business objectives of shippers and receivers.
In 2021 Port Saint John saw the arrival of additional wind turbine components to Long Wharf. These components are destined for wind farms in the nearby area. Port Saint John continues to be located as the ideal staging point for Bay of Fundy tidal energy sector marine asset deployment and servicing. The renewable energy sector, and its related project cargo, continue to be a strong area of focus for Port Saint John.
We continue to provide support to local shipping companies using our Port for maintenance, repairs, bunkering and routine administrative matters, just as we continue to explore opportunities in the offshore wind sector in the US Northeast.
VENUES
Our venues were back in action in 2021 with strict health and safety protocols and precautions. Pandemic-related rentals such as vaccination clinics and rapid test distribution centres were some of the longer-term rentals during the year. Due to the generous size of our rentable rooms, there was an increase in corporate training rentals because social distancing was possible. Another long-term rental we had was the Elections Canada Returning Office.
Our cruise terminals hosted 6 weddings in 2021.
We also donated over $10,000 in in-kind rental donations to non-profits and other groups.
CRUISE
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cruise was suspended in Canadian waters by Transport Canada in 2020. This suspension lasted until November of 2021. As a result, Port Saint John experienced a second year with no cruise visits.
As an industry, ports, destinations and the tour operators and small businesses who survive on cruise activity, understand cruise resumption requires a collective effort. To this end, Port Saint John is providing leadership through the Association of Canadian Port Authorities (ACPA) Cruise Committee who have launched a historic initiative that brings together all ports and regional entities involved in the cruise industry from across Canada as one voice engaged in meaningful dialogue. They provide input into the Government of Canada for the resumption of cruise activity in Canada.
Locally, our Business Development Team has created a Business and Community Liaison Committee consisting of members from economic development, business associations, community groups, and other cruise tourism stakeholders. They meet monthly to discuss cruise resumption and will continue to cover other topics once cruise resumes. In a parallel initiative, with longer-term goals, the Port Saint John cruise team is engaging local tourism stakeholders such as restaurants and tour operators in a proactive and systematic way to help improve overall visitor experience.
The first cruise ship after a two-year hiatus is arriving in Saint John on April 28th, 2022. Our cruise and operations teams are working tirelessly to ensure the safe and successful return of this industry to our region. With the restart of the cruise industry in Canada, we are anticipating 70 cruise ship visits in 2022.
SAFETY, SECURITY, AND ENVIRONMENT
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In recent years, Port Saint John has focused on enhancing our safety programs and culture. It’s been a team effort, with everyone doing their part to strive for a healthy, incident-free workplace. We are working towards ISO 45001 certification.
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Throughout the second year of the pandemic, health and safety remained a top priority. Our COVID response plan remained intact and our COVID Workplace Recovery Task Force continued to meet regularly. This Task Force oversees the Response Plan as it fluctuates to reflect the latest COVID-19 conditions in our area.
As part of the COVID Response Plan throughout 2021, all external service providers and terminal operators continued to submit their COVID Operational Plans for evaluation and assurance that those we engage with also took the appropriate preventative steps.
To further ensure our COVID Response Plan is effective, monitoring continued with formal COVID audits occurring on a scheduled basis. Each month, our operational locations were audited for compliance and efficiency. These audits were reviewed by our senior management and CEO. We worked on behalf of the Government of Canada to ensure vaccine mandates were given high priority in our own operations throughout our leased marine terminals.
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Throughout COVID-19 our security forces acted as front-line screening personnel at our corporate office as well all other Port-operated facilities. Security enhancements and initiatives continued through 2021 including:
Planning stage for a multi-year capital replacement of CCTV system software. This includes upgrades to real-time camera monitoring, recording, and access control. Phase 1 of this project to be complete in 2022,
a multi-year process of harmonizing expiry dates of Marine Facility Security Plans is ongoing
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Throughout 2021 there have been some positive outcomes regarding emergency management.
Our continuous emergency planning and training were put into practice in November through a security exercise, “Cyber Synergy Saint John” including an escalation from MARSEC 1 to MARSEC 2. This involved a full activation of the Port Emergency Response Plan and on-site Emergency Operations Centre and involvement from Port stakeholders and terminal operators.
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Once again, Port Saint John received environmental certification from Green Marine in 2021. A voluntary, transparent, and inclusive initiative, Green Marine addresses environmental issues in the North American maritime industry. The certification process is extensive and based upon 12 key performance indicators.
We are proud to report that, with the participation of our terminal operators and port stakeholders, we collected almost 9000 lbs of marine rope which would otherwise end up in the ocean as part of our commitment to the Debris Free Fundy initiative. The Port invested in and placed 8 collection bins from this program which is led by the Huntsman Marine Science Centre.
We continue to partner with many organizations like the Huntsman, ACAP Saint John, University of New Brunswick by providing access for monitoring and data collection as well as financial and in-kind support. Our team also planted 150 trees through ACAP’s tree planting program.
We also continued down the road towards certifying with ISO 14001.
ENGAGEMENT & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Though 2021 was another year of minimal in-person activities, we still managed to remain connected to each other and our community through virtual and socially distanced activities. We have discovered the benefits of offering virtual meetings and events, as attendance has increased for stakeholder engagement, our annual meeting and Port Days.
Port Stakeholders
More than 10 years ago, Port Saint John implemented a stakeholder and community engagement strategy which has evolved over the decade. At its foundation, the Inclusion Model is the primary tool by which the Port Saint John management team maintains a cycle of engagement with stakeholders in an inclusive manner through forums and working committees.
The Inclusion Model has expanded to include stakeholder and community engagement surveys carried out as a companion to engagement at meetings or in person. Feedback gathered from engagement through inclusion activities such as the forums, committees, and surveys are fed into the strategic planning process with the Board of Directors for the annual update to the Business Plan.
