Short sea US/Canada link
NewsHOPA Ports and Beowulf are partnering to create a short shipping route across Lake Ontario, connecting existing and new ports on opposite shores.
HOPA Ports to establish Lake Ontario Short Sea Shipping Corridor with US
The partnership aims to create a bi-national, low-emission, short sea trade corridor connecting the Port of Oshawa, Ontario, with a new port in Somerset.
The Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA Ports) has entered into an agreement with an affiliate of Beowulf Electricity & Data Inc (Beowulf), the U.S. owner of an expansive 1,800-acre site on the southern shore of Lake Ontario to create a bi-national, low-emission, short sea trade corridor.
The partnership will forge connections between the Port of Oshawa, Ontario and a new port in Somerset, New York by establishing a multimodal shipping terminal at the former location of New York’s last coal plant.
In a Memorandum of Understanding, the two parties pledged to enhance the current CAD 494 billion annual US-Canadian trade partnership by creating a new two-way trade route that is expected to reduce carbon emissions and border congestion from truck traffic by introducing a marine transportation option. The Somerset location is approximately 37 miles directly southwest of the Port of Oshawa.
“The creation of a new port-to-port connection with our most important trade partner clearly makes economic and environmental sense,” said Ian Hamilton, President & CEO of HOPA Ports.
“Southern Ontario is struggling to keep up with the demand on its highways; the economic cost of congestion in the greater Toronto/Hamilton area is estimated to be up to CAD 6 billion annually. Both regional economies will benefit from a cleaner, faster and more efficient maritime trade corridor.”
The short distance between the two partner locations sets the stage for future opportunities to explore the use of alternatively-fuelled vessels.
The Somerset site has been undergoing redevelopment since the closure of the coal plant in 2020 and has worked with the State of New York on its transition to a new economic engine for Niagara County and western New York.
HOPA said that work will begin immediately on a detailed market analysis of the cargoes currently moving cross-border by truck with an origin or destination point at each port. The study will develop the value proposition for a new marine service, including transportation cost savings and GHG reductions.
While technical and market studies on a future Port of Somerset get underway, the port’s owner, Beowulf will work with HOPA and key stakeholders in both countries (including local, state, provincial and federal officials, regulatory agencies, and business groups, among others) to develop and make public a project plan and schedule for the Port of Somerset development, including short-, mid- and long-term milestones and deliverables, as well as potential management options for a new port. A traffic study on potential port scenarios at Somerset will also be part of the public process.
Based on projected trade demand, the partners believe that the Port of Somerset would develop over time to create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs in Niagara County and the Greater Buffalo area (stevedores, warehouse employees, freight forwarders, dockworkers, crane operators, vessel agents, dredging contractors, marine pilots, truck drivers and shipyard workers among others).
The partnership also enhances the Port of Oshawa and Durham Region’s role as a key connection point for Canada-US trade, supporting regional economic development priorities in manufacturing, agrifood and others.
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