ACL signs agreement with Ceres Halifax Terminal

Port of Halifax will remain Atlantic Container Line’s largest port of call in North America and its gateway for Canadian cargo and freight bound for the United States Midwest, the ocean carrier said in a statement.    Atlantic Container Line (ACL) has decided to maintain its twice weekly call at Halifax with its new G4 roll-on/roll-off containerships.
   ACL signed a contract to continue calling the Fairview Cove Container Terminal of Ceres Halifax Inc. through 2022, the ocean carrier said in a statement.
   “We value our long-term working relationships with the Halifax Port Authority and Ceres,” said Andrew Abbott, ACL president and chief executive officer. “We looked long and hard at various schedule alternatives for our new ships. Some excluded Halifax. But we just could not ignore the close cooperation and support of the Halifax Port Authority and Ceres that removed every obstacle to a long-term agreement.”
   He also said quality improvements to the Canadian National rail service and consistent cooperation from the International Longhoremen Association members who work at the terminal were “influential factors in our decision. As a result of this, all the stakeholders of the port will benefit, as ACL volume via Halifax will eventually double as all of our new ships enter service.”
   “Port of Halifax will now remain our largest port in North America, and our gateway for Canada and the U.S. Midwest,” added Abbott.
   ACL has been continuously calling the Port of Halifax since 1970.