Maher signs up COSCO for Prince Rupert terminal

Maher signs up COSCO for Prince Rupert terminal Maher Terminals said its new container terminal at the Port of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, has garnered its first customer, with China Ocean Shipping Co. planning to begin calling the terminal on a weekly basis in the fourth quarter.
   “COSCO’s commitment is a great vote of confidence in the viability of this new route and in the success of our partnership with CN, the Prince Rupert Port Authority, and the federal and provincial governments of Canada and British Columbia, all of whom are key stakeholders in the terminal’s development,” said Brian Maher, chairman and chief executive officer.
   Earlier this week, the Canadian National Railway Co. said it had also reached an agreement with COSCO to provide rail service from the    terminal to key North American markets.
   Maher says the terminal is closer to the Far East than any other terminal in North America, has the deepest harbor in North America, and on dock access to CN’s high-capacity double-stack rail network.
   The terminal will initially provide an annual container handling capacity of 500,000 TEUs, later to be increased to 2 million TEUs.
   Maher Terminals, based in Berkeley Heights, N.J., operates the largest terminal in the Port of New York and New Jersey, with a capacity of 3.4 million TEUs.
   Don McBeth, executive vice president, sales and marketing, said Maher has had a “long and valued relationship with COSCO. We are pleased that COSCO has seized the opportunity to provide to its customers the benefit of the added transportation capacity that the Prince Rupert trade corridor will make available.”