A cargo ship, which will provide access to domestic and international shipping, will dock in The County in just a few weeks time.
Doornekamp Lines has purchased a ship which will go every two weeks to Halifax, importing and exporting cargo into the Ontario market.
Chris King with Quinte Economic Development says this is another asset for the region.
“Logistics is increasingly important in the terms of the cost of doing business. One of the key decisions in the terms of where you locate a business, where you grow a business, is around the the cost of logistics. So this is going to hopefully provide some lower cost solutions to manufacturers in our region.”
Ben Doornekamp is owner of Picton Terminals, Doornekamp Construction and Doornekamp Lines, and he tells Quinte News they will be using portions of their property on White Chapel Road in Picton.
“This region including the eastern GTA has a lot of export cargo, a lot of import cargo, that gets trucked long distances and research shows that moving cargo on water, using economy of scale is much more environmentally friendly than trucking it long distances, or railing it long distances.”
He added that the company hopes to fill a service not just on the logistical side, but also the environmental.
“We hope all those importers and exporters that move cargo, whether it is in containers, or break-bulk, or project cargo in our region can take advantage of our service. Their first and last mile now can be shortened from a four- or five-hour truck ride into Montreal, to a 20-minute truck ride into Picton.”
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In their phased in approach, Doornekamp Lines will be able to move cargo across Ontario and several American states (Photo: Doornekamp Lines)
The first ship will arrive in Picton at the end of April or early May, and will start its loop between Halifax and Picton, which will take about two weeks.
Doornekamp says their tugs and barges within their current fleet will also transport around the Great Lakes and into the USA.
Hundreds of cargo containers will be able to be moved by the ship.
Both King and Doornekamp expect the terminal to provide good paying jobs, not just for the municipality, but the Bay of Quinte region, while saving money for local manufacturers and providers.
Bi-weekly, Doornekamp Lines will move their cargo ship from Halifax into Picton (Photo: Doornekamp Lines)
