July 3 - Canada's Port of Halifax has joined the Port of Hamburg Marketing (HHM) organisation as its first member from North America.
The ports of Halifax and Hamburg are linked by transatlantic trade and with its internationally active marketing organisation, HHM said that it offers the Port of Halifax optimal conditions and an ideal marketing platform for building up contacts with shipping companies and shippers.
Over the next few years significant project investments are planned for Atlantic Canada. "With Halifax as a gateway for supplies and logistics for industry and construction projects in the region, we are setting the course for more jobs and growth," said Stephen McNeil, premier of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
"I see the expansion of relations between the ports of Halifax and Hamburg as a valuable facilitator for these projects."
Apart from containerized general cargoes, Halifax specialises particularly in breakbulk and project, as well as bulk, cargoes.
For 2013, the Port of Hamburg reported a total seaborne cargo throughput with Canadian ports of 4.34 million tonnes, representing a 12.3 percent increase over 2012.
Five shipping lines transport containerized and multi-purpose cargoes and vehicles on liner services between Hamburg and Canadian ports.
Left to right: Geoffrey Machum, chairman of the Halifax Port Authority, and Axel Mattern, executive board member of Port of Hamburg Marketing.